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Simpson Ely 



SERMONS, 
ESSAYS AND OUTLINES 



BY 

SIMPSON ELY 



COMPILED BY HIS SON 

Marcellus R. Ely 



PUBLISHED BY THE 

STANDARD PUBLISHING COMPANY 

CINCINNATI, OHIO 



3X732/1 

£55 Sf 



Copyrighted, 1910, 

BY THE 

Standard Publishing Company. 



©CI. A 26 89 BE 



INTRODUCTION 



Because of the solicitations of my father's friends, 
because of his own desire to publish some of his writings in 
book form, and particularly because I believe that such 
a volume will be helpful to many, I have undertaken to 
compile this book. 

As a minister of the gospel of Christ, evangelist, teach- 
er, lecturer and temperance advocate, thousands of people 
in the Central States delighted to hear Simpson Ely. In 
over thirty-five years spent in the ministry, thousands were 
won to Christ by his preaching. As contributor and asso- 
ciate editor for a number of secular and religious periodi- 
cals, his name was favorably known to multitudes of others. 
Many of these will be glad to see in permanent form those 
words which moved their hearts and led many to higher 
paths. As of his Lord, it may be said of him, "The com- 
mon people heard him gladly." They will, I believe, be 
glad to read this book. 

The latter portion of the book I have placed under the 
separate title, "The Charleston Sermons." The sermons 
were delivered in the Calhoun Street Church of Christ, 
Charleston, S. C, in an evangelistic campaign held during 
my ministry in that city. They are digests written by his 
own hand which appeared in the Charleston News-Courier. 
This was his last completed evangelistic meeting. This 
part of the book will be of interest to those who have heard 
him through a campaign of four or five weeks. It will 
be suggestive to ministers in showing his method of con- 
ducting a successful campaign for souls. 

Marcellus E. Ely. 
Puyallup, Wash., Feb. 16, 1910. 



To My Mother 



CONTENTS 



Our Heavenly Home 1 

Prayer 5 

Resurrection of Lazarus 16 

Evangelism 22 

How to Study the Bible 31 

At the Feet of Jesus— I., II., III., IV., V 51 

Things We Know Not 64 

The Confession of Sin 66 

Faith with the Heart 68 

Don 71 

The Lord is My Shepherd 74 

The Law of Citizenship ' 77 

To Young Brethren of Faith and Zeal 79 

To New Converts— L, II., III., IV., V 82 

Is the Bible Reasonable ? 03 

Faithfulness in Little Things 98 

Peace 100 

The Way of Salvation 103 

THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 

The Two Elements of Religion 121 

Fruits of Unbelief 122 

Has God Revealed Himself? 124 

Why Study the Bible? 126 

False Methods of Bible Study 129 

Right Methods of Bible Study 132 

False Views of God 136 

The Birth of Christ and What It Means to the World 140 

No Room for Jesus — I., II 143 

The Early Consecration of Jesus 151 

The Thorough Consecration of Jesus 154 

The Temptation of Jesus 156 

V 



vi CONTENTS. 



The Light of the World— I., II 159 

The World's Example 164 

The Great Foundation 167 

Sin-sickness and Its Cure 170 

The Divine Creed 172 

The Divine Confession of Faith 174 

The Transfiguration of Jesus 177 

The Great Commission 180 

Faith 182 

Repentance 184 

Baptism 187 

Is Life Worth Living? 190 

The Great Salvation 194 

God and the Sparrows 195 

Christian Unity 199 



Sermons, Essays and Outlines 



OUR HEAVENLY HOME. 

"We speak of the realms of the blest, 
That country so bright and so fair; 
And oft are its glories confessed, 
But what must it be to be there?" 

We do not think and talk of heaven enough. We hope 
to make heaven our future home. This is not our abiding 
place. We are in the world, but not of the world. Our 
conversation or citizenship is in heaven. Everything* 
around us tends to wean us from earth and win us to 
heaven. Why, then, should we not talk of heaven and 
things divine? 

The Jews were promised an earthly Canaan. It was 
represented as a goodly land — a land flowing with milk 
and honey. But they were required to make a long, ardu- 
ous and perilous journey before they reached it. Boiling 
floods, barren deserts, hunger and thirst were all to be 
encountered before they could enter upon the possession of 
that land. How their thoughts must have dwelt upon the 
promised land. How their hearts must have yearned for 
the promised rest. I have often imagined them, as the 
eventide would come, sitting around their camp-fires and 
talking of the long foretold and looked-for Canaan. They 
were weary and footsore from the day's journey. They 
were emaciated from hunger and thirst. Many of them 
were heart-sick because of the trials through which they 



2 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

were passing. How sweet to them must have been the 
thought of rest. 

But they had much to mar their anticipated joy. Many 
of their friends who had started with them for the prom- 
ised land had perished on the way. Their dead bodies 
marked the whole pathway from the Eed Sea to the Jor- 
dan. Thus the prospect of entering upon the possession 
of Canaan was embittered by the thought that they would 
not meet these in the new home. Thus theirs was only 
a comparative rest — it was not absolute. Joshua could not 
give them rest; but there remaineth a rest for the people 
of God. Blessed be the name of the Lord for the promise. 

And what a rest will that be ! When our Civil War was 
over, how sweet was the rest from all the turmoil and the 
strife, from all the estrangements and alienations, from 
the cries of wounded and dying, and from the scenes of 
blood. We are now in a warfare. Our foes are not flesh 
and blood, but they are spiritual enemies — enemies with- 
out and enemies within. If we are truly Christians, we 
can say with Paul that we bear about in our bodies the 
scars of the Lord Jesus. But heaven will be rest from the 
conflict. How sorely are we tried here ! Despite all our 
efforts, our prayers, and our most valiant struggles, we 
often feel, like Bunyan's Pilgrim, that Apollyon has well- 
nigh won the victory. God alone knows how fierce has 
raged the battle, and how hard the fight has been. But 
when the last battle will have been fought, and the last 
victory won, to us will be given the victor's crown, and 
the victory will be an eternal one. We shall have no fear 
of a repetition of Milton's "war in heaven." It will be 
an eternal peace — the sweet peace of God. 

Heaven will be rest from sin. Nothing unclean shall 
enter there. Oftentimes we feel "a-weary of the world." 
We are weary of its selfishness, its carnality, its drunken- 



OUR HEAVEXLY HOME. 



ness, its profanity and vulgarity. He who cares for the 
good of mankind, for the welfare of his fellows, he who 
has a heart to feel and a soul to sympathize, can not look 
upon all the sinfulness of the world unmoved. Oft in the 
stilly night he will bathe his pillow with his tears. Oh 
that we could realize the exceeding sinfulness of sin, then 
like Jesus we would weep over the follies of the world ! 
But there will be no sin in heaven, "and that will be 
heaven for me." There will be no misplaced confidence 
there. We will not be compelled to look with distrust 
upon an}' one, but there will be the utmost confidence be- 
tween man and man and all will dwell in sweet accord. 
Heaven will be rest from affliction. This earth is a vast 
hospital with millions of occupants who are insane, feeble- 
minded, infirm, blind, deaf, lame, and afflicted in number- 
less ways; but in the Xew Jerusalem — the city of our 
God — there shall be no more pain. Oh, blessed thought! 
Oh, glorious hope ! There sickness, sorrow, pain and death 
are felt and feared no more. 

"What will it matter by and by, 

Whether with cheek to cheek we've lain, 
Close by the pallid angel Pain, 
Soothing ourself with sob and sigh, 
When we look back on it by and by?" 

Oh, wondrous "home of the soul" ! What a relief it will 
be to see no furrowed brow of care, to feel no twitch of 
pain and no fevered pulse, no need of physicians and in- 
valid-rooms. 

Heaven will be rest from dying. There will be no more 
death. How many millions of earth's people are dwelling 
beneath the shadow of a great sorrow. Happy homes and 
happy hearts have been all broken up by the devastating 
work of the death angel. We who are approaching middle 



4 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

age can look back over the few years gone and ask ourselves, 
Where are the fathers and mothers in Israel who directed 
our young feet into the paths of peace? Gone, all gone. 
One by one they have all passed away. 

"They're gathering homeward from every land, 
One by one, one by one." 

Where are the young men and women with whom we 
associated in early life? Most of them, too, are gone. 
And many of my readers can say, "Where are our children 
— our dear, prattling babes ?" To the graveyard you have 
followed them. Into the silent grave you have tenderly 
laid their sweet little forms to await the glad resurrection 
morning. But in heaven there will be no death. Friends 
who were separated by death will meet to part nevermore. 
There is balm in Gilead. All the broken hearts will be 
healed, and into all the wounded souls will come the oil 
of heavenly consolation. Earth would be unbearable were 
it not for the prospect of ultimately reaching the abode of 
the blest. 

Above all and crowning all, heaven will bring us into 
the everlasting presence of God and his Christ, "in whose 
presence there is fulness of joy and at whose right hand 
there are pleasures forevermore." This is the sweetest 
thought of heaven. We delight in the society of the fair 
and the lovely, but Jesus is the fairest among ten thousand 
and the one altogether lovely. We love our fathers in 
Israel ; but one is our Father, even God. We hope to meet 
our brothers in heaven ; but Jesus is a friend that sticketh 
closer than a brother. And how we value the love and 
society of a mother; but Jesus loves us with more than a 
mother's love. Yes, Jesus will be there. We know not 
now what we shall be, but we know that we shall be like 
him, for we shall see him as he is. 



PEAYER. 



So we talk of heaven, of its joys, of its wealth of glory, 
of its sweet companionship, of the presence of God, and 
of its freedom from all the ills that flesh is heir to; but 
heaven will have to be felt and known to be fully ap- 
preciated. 

"O Lord, in this valley of woe, 
Our spirits for heaven prepare; 
That shortly we also may know, 
And feel what it is to be there." 



PRAYER. 

In this discourse I shall treat the subject in a somewhat 
promiscuous way, gathering up the odds and ends, as it 
were. There are many erroneous views of prayer taught 
from the pulpit and lecture platforms, and many miscon- 
ceptions concerning the subject entertained by the people. 
All these claim our attention, and the atmosphere sur- 
rounding this subject should be cleared away, the clouds 
dispelled, and the sunlight of truth permitted to shine in 
unobstructed. This is the purpose of this discourse. I 
shall present the subject in the form of queries, and strive 
to answer them in a simple, frank way. 

Query I. What is prayer ? 

Webster answers : "The act of praying or asking a favor ; 
earnest request; hence an earnest memorial to a court or 
legislative body. It is especially the act of addressing 
supplication to God ; the offering up to the Supreme Being 
of adoration, confession, supplication and thanksgiving; 
the practice of communion with God in devotional ad- 
dress, worship and supplication; as public prayer, secret 
prayer, etc. The form of words used in praying; a form- 
ula of supplication; an expressed petition; a supplication 
addressed to God as a written or extemporaneous prayer; 



6 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

a long prayer; an earnest or appropriate prayer." Web- 
ster also gives the following words as synonyms: "Peti- 
tion; orison; supplication; entreaty; suit; request." 

I give this full, unabridged definition for a definite 
purpose. 

It is held by some that prayer is simply desire; the 
w r ant of the heart ; the longing of the soul. Such persons 
claim that he who prays need not utter any words, nor 
in any way give expression to his petitions. I fear that 
many persons have excused themselves from praying on 
this erroneous ground. Now, I believe they live prayer- 
less lives, no matter what deep longings may be in their 
souls. In all the long definition above there is not one 
word to justify such a conception of prayer. "But," some 
one may say, "does not an old hymn say, 'Prayer is the 
soul's sincere desire, unuttered or expressed' ?" 

Yes, but songs have been made to teach a great deal 
of false theology, as we could abundantly show, if time 
would permit. 

Jesus said, "After this manner pray ye," and then he 
gave to his disciples a form of words after which to model 
their petitions. 

I fancy some one will now say, "Did not Hannah pray 
before the Lord, and yet without words ?" Listen ! "And 
it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord, 
that Eli marked her mouth. Now Hannah, she spake in 
her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not 
heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. . . . 
And Hannah answered and said, No, my Lord, I am a 
woman of a sorrowful spirit; I have drunk neither wine 
nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the 
Lord. . . . Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace : and 
the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast 
asked of him" (1 Sam. 1:12-17). 



PRAYER. 



Now, this instance in Hannah's life comes nearer prayer 
without words than any recorded in the Bible, and yet Eli 
saw her lips move, and because he heard not her words he 
pronounced her a victim of drunkenness. She spoke; but 
not in audible tones. She prayed; but only God heard. 

In all the recorded prayers of Jesus words were uttered. 

We must use a form of prayer, and employ intelligible 
words. 

Jesus said, "Ask, and ye shall receive." He did not 
say, "Desire, and ye shall receive." If a thing is not worth 
the asking, it is not worth possessing. A child does not 
hesitate to express to the parent its wants, and it is the ex- 
pression that moves the parent to confer the gift. Not 
much blessed will he be who does not express his wants 
to the heavenly Father. 

Hannah said, "The Lord hath given me my petition 
which I asked of him/' John says, "If ye ask for anything 
according to his will, he heareth you." 

Nor does he pray who simply "says his prayers." Web- 
ster says it must be "an earnest request." The powers of 
the soul must find expression in words. Prayer is a sim- 
ple, honest, earnest, fervent talk with God. And it is a 
grand thing to get right with God, so that we may thus 
commune with him. There are few privileges accorded 
to man greater than this. Oh, a talk with God, what a 
blessing! A heart-to-heart talk with Jesus, how it re- 
freshes the soul, like dew upon the parched plant ! 

"A little talk with Jesus, 

How it smooths the rugged road, 
How it seems to help me onward, 

When I faint beneath my load. 
When my heart is crushed with sorrow 

And my eyes with tears are dim, 
There is naught can yield me comfort 

Like a little talk with Him." 



8 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

The man that does not thus talk with God and converse 
with the blessed Saviour, misses the sweetest joys of life 
and its richest experiences. 

With Hartley Coleridge I would say: 

"Be not afraid to pray, to pray is right: 

Pray, if thou canst, with hope, but ever pray, 
Tho' hope be weak or sick with long delay. 

Pray in the darkness if there be no light. 

Whate'er is good to wish ask that of Heaven, 
Tho' it be what thou canst not hope to see. 

Pray to be perfect, tho' material leaven 
Forbid the spirit so on earth to be; 

But if for any wish thou darest not pray, 

Then pray to God to take that wish away." 

Query 11. Why should we pray with importunity ? 

There are various reasons, and I am sure these reasons 
look manward rather than Godward. God would doubt- 
less answer our petitions at first if the conditions were 
such on our part as to meet his approval. Even our chil- 
dren do not always get what they want, at the first asking. 
At first it may be a whim to gratify, and not a deep and 
long-felt want. At first it may be a self-willed, demand- 
ing spirit manifest. To refuse such a petition is a bless- 
ing to the child. When it changes its demands to earnest 
pleadings and gentle entreaties, it is falling into a frame 
of mind that will enable it the more to appreciate the 
kindness bestowed upon it. The very repetition of its 
prayers, and the deferring of the gift, may serve to in- 
tensify its longings and heighten its value of the gift. 
"Hope, long deferred, makes the heart sick," but, if not 
too long deferred, it may put us in a better frame of mind 
to realize its glad fruition. And the very repetition of 
the prayers, and the deferring of the gift, may cause the 
child to stop and consider whether it really needs the 
thing asked for. 



PRAYER. 



Even so with the child of God. At first he may be in 
no proper frame of mind to approach God. He may be 
in a petulant, self-willed mood, half complaining, half re- 
belling. He may have very little faith at first, and the 
Bible says such a man shall not receive anything from 
the Lord. He may be inclined to reply against God, and 
prefer his wishes in the form of a demand, instead of 
earnestly pleading and tenderly entreating. The refusal 
of his request, or the delay of the answer, has a good reflex 
influence upon him. It humbles him and gives him a 
more vivid sense of his dependence upon God. Yea, the 
very delay may cause him to see that the thing craved was 
unreasonable, out of the question, and, if granted, would 
be to his hurt. How many of us have prayed for things 
in the past that were withheld from us, and the blessing 
was in the withholding. He who has not passed through 
this has not had much experience in Christian living. 

Paul had some affliction, infirmity or weakness, and it 
was so grievous that he compared it to a thorn in the 
flesh. It was a constant torture. Let your hand or foot 
be pierced with a thorn and there is no "let up" to the 
pain as long as it remains there. It constantly annoys and 
burns and smarts. Your first thought is to have it re- 
moved. So Paul endured this pain all the while. With no 
thought of having it removed? Ah! how earnestly he 
prayed to God that it might be taken away. The petition 
was not granted. Again he prayed, for deliverance, but 
with the same result. With the same result, did I say? 
Who can tell ? Who knows how much of humility it pro- 
duced in his heart? Who can tell how much more of 
resignation and weakness he now experienced? Perhaps 
he needed just such discipline. Paul was human. By 
nature he was self-willed and stubborn. Grace made him 
what he was. Sin had abounded in his life to such an 



10 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

extent that there was one period in his career when he 
looked upon himself as the chief of sinners. After years 
of Christian growth he wrote, "By grace I am what I am." 
But the work of grace was not yet complete in him. He 
had not yet prayed enough. A third time he cried unto 
God that the thorn might be removed. God did not grant 
his petition, but there came to him a blessed, divine as- 
surance of heavenly help, and that was better. "My grace 
shall be sufficient for thee," was the sweet message that 
came from God to the soul of the petitioner. The thorn 
was not removed, but ever after this he rested in this 
blessed assurance. 

Now, let come to Paul what may, of trouble, of peril 
on land and sea, of bitter persecution, of hunger and thirst, 
of ostracism and death, the assurance of God that he should 
have a sufficiency of grace, cheered him on, and caused 
him to glory in the things that concerned his infirmities. 
Importunity in prayer brought to him this great blessing. 

There are things that must inevitably come into our 
lives. Like the thorn in Paul's flesh, they can not be 
removed. "Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly up- 
ward." "Into every life some rain must fall." Your 
friends die and all your importunate prayers will not avert 
the dread calamity. Sweet promise of God: "My grace 
shall be sufficient for thee." Your own "earthly taber- 
nacle" must be dissolved. "It is appointed unto men once 
to die." All your praying can not save you from the 
ordeal; but the promise that God's grace shall be suf- 
ficient for you causes you to fear no evil even though you 
"pass through the valley and the shadow of death." 
"What can not be cured must be endured," and the grace 
of God gives us the power of endurance. Then keep on 
praying and the grace will surely come. Daniel March 
says: "Nothing can make our souls so pure and strong, 



PRAYER. 11 



nothing can arm us so completely for the great conflicts 
of life, as to be alone for one hour with infinite truth and 
infinite love. There is no joy, duty, conflict or sorrow 
for which we can not be better prepared by prayer/' 
Mary, Queen of Scotland, said, "I fear John Knox's pray- 
ers more than an army of ten thousand men." Truly he 
was her most formidable foe, more terrible than an army 
with banners. His prayers saved Scotland from the clutch- 
es of Romanism. Prayer brings God to our help, and he 
who has God for his helper is in the great majority. 
"If God be for us, who can be against us?" 

Query III. Is not prayer simply reflex in its influ- 
ence? 

So some teach. They would have us believe that prayer 
exhausts itself upon him who prays. God does not hear 
us, nor, of course, does he answer us. It simply humbles 
us and makes us feel our dependence. I believe most 
heartily in the subjective or reflex influence upon the heart 
and life of him who prays; I have abundantly shown 
this in this sermon under the head of importunate prayer. 
I do not believe any man can sincerely and earnestly pray 
^without being a better man. "The effectual fervent pray- 
er of a righteous man availeth much/' even subjectively 
and reflexively. But, it does not exhaust itself here. It 
has an objective influence as well. It affects those for 
whom prayer is made. Paul says it is for the edification 
of the saints. Many a man has had his heart reached and 
his life directed into better channels by hearing fervent 
prayers offered in his behalf. Who has not been moved 
to nobler impulses and better living because of a mother's 
prayers in his behalf? The impressions that a praying 
mother makes are lifelong. Mothers, perhaps when you 
are dead and gone your prayers may be answered. It is 
right to offer special prayers for special persons and for 



12 SEBMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

special purposes. There is a defiriiteness about such pray- 
ers that I like. Paul frequently requested his brethren to 
pray for him. Why so, if prayer is simply reflexive in 
its power and efficacy? Another apostle exhorts Chris- 
tians to pray for one another. James says the prayer of 
faith shall save the sick. Certainly this is more than sub- 
jective. 

But prayer reaches beyond human ears. It reaches the 
ear of the Lord God of Sabaoth. Heaven listens to the 
man who prays. When James says the effectual fervent 
prayer of a righteous man availeth much, I think he has no 
thought of the reflex influence, but of its influences upon 
Heaven. I don't know whether the subjective entered his 
mind at all. The illustrations that follow are conclusive 
proofs that he had before him the objective effect of prayer 
upon God. He shows how Elijah, though a man of like 
passions with us, prevailed with God to withhold the rain 
for three and a half years, and how, again, God sent the 
rain in answer to his petitions. This one statement of 
divine revelation ought to forever stop the mouths of 
gainsayers. 

David declares that the eyes of the Lord are over the 
righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. 

Jesus says: "If ye know how to give good gifts unto 
your children, much more will your heavenly Father give 
good things to them that ask him." 

It is claimed sometimes that it is unreasonable and un- 
scientific that God should be influenced by our prayers. 
I will let one of the leading scientists of the modern times 
answer this objection. I refer to Professor Dawson. He 
says : "Are we to suppose that the only being in the uni- 
verse who can not answer prayer is that One who alone 
has all power at his command? The weak theology that 
professes to believe that prayer has merely a subjective 



PKAYER. 13 



benefit is infinitely less scientific than the action of the 
child who confidently appeals to a Father in heaven." 
Thus the unbelieving scientist is met on his own ground 
by the believing scientist. 

In contrasting the gods of the heathen with the true 
God, David says: "Thou art not like the gods of the 
heathen, that have eyes, but see not; ears, but hear not," 
etc. 

Oh, it is the most reasonable thing that God hears the 
cry of his intelligent creatures. Nor do I think there can 
be prayer where this faith does not exist. There is cer- 
tainly a strong show of hypocrisy and self-deception in 
addressing God if one thinks that God does not hear. 

Query IV. It is easy enough to believe that God hears 
prayers; but is it true that he answers them? Of course 
God knows all things, and he must know when we pray; 
but will he in any way modify his laws in order to answer 
us? My answer is this: It is one of his laws, yea, it 
seems to be in the very constitution of his government, 
to hear and answer prayer. When, therefore, he does hear 
and answer, there is no change or modification of his laws, 
but simply the enforcement of such laws as already exist. 

When the President of these United States hears and 
answers a petition from a citizen, or from any number of 
citizens, does he modify or change any law? Certainly 
not. He is simply acting in harmony with existing law, 
for the Constitution of this republic grants to its citizens 
the right of petition. If he should refuse this right, he 
would be a despot, and the people would rise in rebellion. 

God could not, in harmony with his own nature, refuse 
to hear and answer prayer. 

This question involves the whole question of special 
providence and of God's immediate supervision of the 
works of his hand. These are truths that I believe with 



14 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

all my heart, but it is not my purpose to discuss them at 
length in this sermon. 

God hears and answers prayer. He heard Abraham 
when he plead for Sodom; Moses when he interceded for 
sinful and rebellious Israel; Hannah when she plead for 
a son; Elijah when he challenged the prophets of Baal 
and when he prayed for rain; Daniel when he prayed for 
the deliverance from Babylonian captivity; the publican 
when he prayed for mercy; Peter and John and Paul 
and Silas when cast into prison. 

"But," the objector may say, "I have most earnestly 
prayed and yet failed in my petition. The nation prayed 
for its stricken President, but Garfield died. How recon- 
cile these instances with the theory that God hears and 
answers prayer?" 

To me this presents no difficulty. In the first place, 
the promise to hear is predicated upon the will of God. 
"If we ask for anything according to his will" says the 
beloved John. The will of God must always be done. 
"Not my will, but thine," is the very essence of prayer. 
It is the cap-sheaf of petition. Three times Jesus prayed 
in the garden, and each time in a very paroxysm of sorrow 
and soul distress, but each petition concluded with, "Never- 
theless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." 

"All those who journey, soon or late 
Must pass within the garden's gate; 
Must kneel alone in darkness there, 
And battle with some fierce despair. 
God pity those who can not say, 
'Not mine, but thine;' who only pray, 
'Let this cup pass,' and can not see 
The purpose in Gethsemane." 

Nor does it necessarily follow that God, in order to 
answer our prayers, must grant the very things that we 



PRAYER. 15 



request. He may grant some favor much greater than this. 
He is able to do for us "exceedingly abundantly above all 
that we are able to ask or think." The disciples prayed 
Jesus to send the multitudes away that they might buy 
food. Jesus kept the people with him, and bountifully fed 
them by the thousands. 

"We know not what we should pray for as we ought, 
but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groan- 
ings that cannot be uttered." 

You would spoil your child if you were to grant every- 
thing it asks. It would be, "Papa, buy this," and "Papa, 
buy that." Every time you go to town you would hear 
from your boy, "Bring me a wagon, a sled, a football, a 
gun, a revolver, a bicycle," and other articles too numerous 
to mention; and as you are leaving the house the little 
girl calls after you, "Papa, bring me some oranges, 
bananas, candy, chewing-gum, a doll and plenty of tissue 
paper." Grant all they ask, and you would impoverish 
yourself and spoil your child. The parent must be able 
to discriminate as to what the child should have, and he 
must negative many of its petitions. He provides that 
which will be of far more benefit than the gewgaws and 
bric-a-brac which the child would have. 

Ah ! it is a most blessed thing for us that God does not 
always grant the very thing we ask of him. We would 
all be spoiled children if we had our own way in all 
things. The withholding is oftentimes a greater blessing 
than the conferring. Isaac Errett used to say: "God 
answers all our prayers, but he sometimes answers in the 
negative." A splendid statement of an important distinc- 
tion. The negative answer is a blessing in disguise. 



16 SEEMOXS, ESSAYS AXD OUTLINES. 

"How many tilings are clear to us to-day 
That yesterday we saw through mist of tears! 
How many things are better than our fears! 
What sunbeams through our self -wrought shadows play I 
Not one fair, earnest hope is laid away 
Within its shroud of weary, wasted years, 
But from the tangled grass above it peers, 
Full soon, some blossom redolent of May. 
We stretch beseeching hands to heaven and pray 
That this or that be granted whilst we plead. 
We turn with empty hands from prayer and say: 

'We are unheard, forgotten, lost indeed!' 
When, lo! within our reach some priceless gift 
For which imploring palms we dared not lift." 



RESURRECTION OF LAZARUS. 

The account of this transaction is found in John 11: 
1-46. It is not my purpose to call attention to the resur- 
rection particularly, but to try to present some of the les- 
sons that are incidentally taught in this passage. 

JESUS HAD HIS PARTICULAR FRIENDS. 

I have known many good Christians who were perplexed 
because they thought the Bible required them to love ene- 
mies and friends alike, and they knew they had no such 
love in their hearts. This is certainly an error. The 
Bible does require us to return good for evil, and to pray 
for our enemies, but it nowhere teaches that it is possible 
for us to entertain the same feelings toward all men. It 
is neither human nor divine nature to do so. Jesus loved 
the world so much that he died for it ; but he had a love 
peculiar for some individuals. John is spoken of as "the 
disciple whom Jesus loved." We are not to suppose for 



KESUKKECTIOX OF LAZARUS. 17 

a moment that he did not love the other eleven, but that 
John was his favorite. He possessed a more lovable dis- 
position than the others, hence Jesus loved him most. We 
always love that most which is most lovely. Upon this 
hypothesis we can account for the peculiar expression, 
"Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus." 
After such a statement we need no further description of 
this little family. We know from this that they combined 
in themselves all that is lovely, pure and good. Can we 
live so that it can be said of us, Jesus loved them? I 
would rather have such an assurance than be President. 

JESUS BLESSED THE HOME AT BETHANY WITH HIS 

PRESENCE. 

I have often thought that this family of three at 
Bethany were peculiarly favored in that the "Son of man," 
the "Son of God," often abode under their own roof-tree. 
After he had mingled with the vast multitudes all the 
day long, after his great soul was weary of the faithless- 
ness and stupidity of the crowd, after he had ministered 
to the thousands with his words of sympathy and his deeds 
of love, after all the busy cares of the day were over, 
secretly he would leave the multitudes, and, weary and foot- 
sore, wend his way to the quiet and humble home at 
Bethany, there to find friends who could anticipate his 
every want. What a blessing to the guest after the toils 
of the day, and what a supreme blessing to the home that 
gave him shelter! How often have we wished that it 
could be our happy lot to entertain Jesus. It can he. 
Hear him speak, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock ; 
if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come 
in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." "If 
any man," makes it the privilege of every one to entertain 



18 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

this heavenly Guest. Oh that men would open their hearts 
and bid him come in! 

MARY AND MARTHA SENT FOR JESUS. 

No sooner had trouble come to the Bethany home than 
the sisters sent word to Jesus, saying, "Lord, behold, he 
whom thou lovest is sick." It was not necessary to even 
mention the name of Lazarus in this message. Jesus knew 
by the expression, "whom thou lovest," that it was he. 
Martha and Mary had many friends among the Jews, as 
appears in this narrative; but they felt that there was 
no friend like Jesus. He who had been so dear to them 
amid sunshine and prosperity, was doubly dear when 
clouds and adversity hovered over their home. How all 
men would be blessed if they would send for Jesus when 
the troublous waves of life's sea roll over them. Ye 
tempted ones, seek relief in Jesus. He will not suffer you 
to be tempted above that you are able to bear. Ye sorrow- 
ing ones, go to the Saviour. He has said, "My grace is 
sufficient for thee." Why will men bear life's burdens 
alone, when they have a friend in Jesus who says, "Come 
unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will 
give you rest" ? "Cast thy burdens upon the Lord, and he 
will sustain thee." When the disciples failed to heal one 
who was grievously afflicted, Jesus said, "Bring him to 
me," and he healed him. Ofttimes human helpers fail, 
but Jesus, never. He would say to us of every sorrow, 
trouble or affliction, "Bring it to me." Foolish man ! will 
you go on trying to bear your own burdens, pressed to the 
earth by their weight, when you can fly for refuge to 
Jesus? No wonder you sink, like Peter, when you rely 
upon your own strength. 



RESURRECTION OP LAZARUS. 19 

JESUS OBEYED THE CALL OF DUTY. 

But a little while before, Jesus had greatly offended the 
Jews, and they sought to stone him. to death. Now this 
sickness of his dear friend makes it necessary for him to 
go among his deadly enemies again, for though they hated 
him they were friends of the Bethany sisters. He resolved 
to go. His disciples tried to dissuade him from going. 
Such attempts were vain. Here was a distinguishing fea- 
ture in the life of Jesus. He always had his conception 
of duty, and he never swerved from it. Neither friends 
nor foes could turn him from the great purpose of his 
life. Arguments, slanders, threats scourgings, crucifixion 
— all these left his great soul unshaken. Policy never en- 
tered for one moment into his deliberations. The love of 
applause and popularity had no influence upon a single 
act of his life. What a grand lesson for his weak-kneed 
disciples, who feared to brave the popular sentiment of 
the day. They should have applauded rather than dis- 
couraged him. When duty calls us, who are to be most 
feared, our enemies or our friends, who try to keep us from 
duty, lest we render ourselves unpopular ? He who to-day 
will condemn the evils in the church, and out of it, will 
have about as slender a following as our Lord had while he 
was in the world. This is no time for faint-hearts, how- 
ever, and we should imitate our Saviour, and go where 
duty calls. The Christian should have the moral courage 
to plant himself squarely upon the right of every question 
that concerns the public good. Intemperance, worldliness 
and idolatry are the curses of our age, and no uncertain 
sound should come from the lovers of the Lord. 



20 SEKMOXS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

THE RAISING OF LAZARUS IS A PLEDGE OF OUR OWN. 

Jesus purposely waited four days before lie went to the 
grave of Lazarus, that all show of deception might be re- 
moved. Decomposition had set in so that the body was 
offensive. Here was an illustration of the omnipotent 
power belonging to Jesus, and that same power that raised 
Lazarus from the dead will raise us up also. It required 
as much power to raise Lazarus as it will require to raise 
all the dead. It was omnipotent power in the one case, 
and it will be the same in the other. Jesus is the resurrec- 
tion and the life. He that believeth on him shall never 
die. Believest thou this ? 

"jesus WEPT." 

In conclusion, I call your attention to Jesus as a sym- 
pathizer and comforter. The sisters found but little com- 
fort from their Jewish friends. Doubtless many of them 
w r ere Sadducees, and denied a resurrection and the exist- 
ence of angels and spirits. They looked upon death as 
annihilation. They laughed the Saviour to scorn when he 
said, "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth." Certainly poor com- 
fort would come from such a quarter. One is reminded 
here of Job and his comforters. His property had all been 
destroyed, his children were all dead, and he was sorely 
afflicted. His friends came to him with their cold and 
lifeless philosophies, and his wife advised him to curse 
God and die. He at last became exasperated and ex- 
claimed, "What miserable comforters are ye all !" 

So, doubtless, Mary and Martha thought of the Jews; 
for the moment the coming of Jesus was announced, they 
left the Jews and ran out and met the Saviour and fell at 
his feet and cried: "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my 
brother had not died, and we know that even now what- 



RESUERECTIOX OF LAZARUS. 21 

soever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee/' Here 
is faith ! 

When Jesus saw their grief, he wept. Oft he had been 
at their house when all was joy and gladness. Now lie 
comes to mingle his tears with theirs. How different is 
this spirit from the stoicism of a cold philosophy. 

A newspaper recently stated that when Mrs. Garfield 
came into the presence of the President, after he was shot, 
she "neither shed tears nor betrayed other signs of weak- 
ness." Weakness indeed ! As if it is weak to manifest sym- 
pathy for the suffering. Jesus sanctified tears by weeping 
with these sisters, and taught us by his holy example that 
it is not only manly, but godly, to weep. Jesus honored the 
happiest and the saddest events of human life ; the happi- 
est, by gracing with his presence the marriage feast of 
Cana — the saddest, by his presence at the grave of Lazarus. 

"Jesus wept." How different from many comforters 
now. An aged sister whose daughter — the comfort and 
solace of her old age — was taken unexpectedly and sud- 
denly away by the hand of death, was left broken-hearted 
to weep the loved and lost. She said to me, "Brother 
Ely, it seems that my grief will almost kill me, and hus- 
band scolds me for weeping." In my own experience, 
when a darling boy was snatched away from us, persons 
said to us, "Do not weep;" "It is wrong to weep/' etc. 
I thought, "What miserable comforters are you all!" 
Others would come with eyes blinded by tears, unable to 
speak a word, and silently grasp my hand, and I thought, 
"Bless God for such friends as these." Xo, it was never 
the intention of religion to stifle the feelings of the human 
heart, and I do not want to live to see the day when I 
can not weep with those that weep. Jesus was a man of 
sorrows and acquainted with grief. He is a High Priest 
that can be touched with a feeling of our infirmities. His 



22 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

great heart beats in sympathy with the sufferer just as it 
did eighteen hundred years ago. He is the same yesterday, 
to-day and forever. 



EVANGELISM. 

Jesus, our great Commander, said, "Go ye into all the 
world and preach the gospel to every creature/' "Go 
teach all nations, teaching them to observe all things that 
I have commanded you." "Thus it is written, and thus 
it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the 
third day, and that repentance and remission of sins 
should be preached in his name among all the nations, 
beginning at Jerusalem." 

These are the clarion notes that have been ringing out 
upon the air through nearly nineteen hundred years. These 
are the marching orders from our Superior Officer — Jesus 
Christ, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He 
seemed to gather up all the energies of the universe, and 
compress them into one little word — Go! And he hurled 
it down through the ages. Back of this word is the au- 
thority of Him who said, "All power is given unto me 
in heaven and in earth." 

If men are ever saved, they must be saved through the 
power and efficiency of truth — Biblical truth. Isaiah said : 
"To the law and to the testimony. If any man speak not 
according to this word, there is no life in him." 

David said: "The law of the Lord is perfect, convert- 
ing the soul." 

And again : "The entrance of thy word giveth life." 

And again : "Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light 
to my pathway." 



EVANGELISM. 23 



Jesus said: "Whoso heareth these sayings of mine and 
doeth them is like a wise man who built his house upon 
a rock." 

And again: "The seed of the kingdom is the word of 
God." 

And yet again : "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth 
shall make you free;" and when praying for his disciples 
he said: "Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is 
truth." 

When the apostles of our Lord went out under their 
Lord's directions, they everywhere emphasized the potency 
of truth as God's instrument for the conviction, conversion, 
sanctification, redemption and glorification of men. 

When they heard the words of Peter, the three thousand 
were convicted on Pentecost. 

When Philip preached to the Samaritans, many of them 
believed and were baptized, both men and women. 

Peter told Cornelius and his household "words where- 
by they might be saved." 

Felix trembled when Paul preached to him concerning 
righteousness and temperance and a judgment to come, 
and Agrippa, under the logical and Scriptural presentation 
of Paul's defense, was almost persuaded to be a Christian. 

Paul rejoiced in the gospel as the power of God unto 
salvation to Jew and Greek. 

He was determined to know nothing else at Corinth 
"save Jesus Christ and him crucified." He declared this 
to be "the power of God and the wisdom of God," and 
said that it pleased God thus "to save them that believe/' 

He declared the word of God to be "the sword of the 
Spirit," and even taught that it was "sharper than any 
two-edged sword." He called down the anathemas of 
heaven upon any who would preach any other gospel, or 
should in any way pervert the gospel of Christ. 



24: SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

He warned his brethren at Ephesus against being "car- 
ried about by every wind of doctrine, and cunning sleight 
of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive," and ex- 
horted them "to speak the truth in love." 

From his prison at Eome he wrote to Timothy, com- 
mending the faith that was within him, and that was in 
his grandmother Lois and in his mother Eunice — com- 
mending him because he had known the Scriptures from 
his youth, which, he declared, were "able to make him wise 
unto salvation." He warned him to "avoid foolish and 
unlearned questions, knowing that they do gender strife;" 
cautioned him to not "be wise above that which is written," 
to avoid "old wives' fables," to hold fast "the form of 
sound words," and to indulge "in sound speech which can- 
not be condemned." He reaffirmed his confidence in the 
word of God in the following strain, "All scripture" — 
yes, all Scripture — "is given by inspiration of God, and 
is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for 
instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be 
perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works;" and 
to Timothy — his son in the gospel — he gave his last solemn 
admonition: "I charge thee, therefore, before God and the 
Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead 
at his appearing and his kingdom, preach the word; be 
instant in season and out of season; exhort, reprove, re- 
buke with all longsuffering and doctrine ; for the time will 
come when men will not endure sound doctrine, but, with 
itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers who will turn 
their ears from the truth and turn them unto fables. 
... Do the work of an evangelist ; make full proof of thy 
ministry." 

This charge of the great apostle to the Gentiles, and to 
an evangelist whom he fondly loved, is pathetic in the 
extreme, and it is sublimity itself. 



EVANGELISM. 25 



The fact that it is the message from him when "he 
was ready to be offered/' and when "the time of his de- 
parture was at hand/' should invest it with great solem- 
nity, and command the veneration and respect of the 
church until the end of time. 

James exhorts us to "receive with meekness the en- 
grafted word which, is able to save the soul/' and Peter 
says that we are "born again not of corruptible, but of 
incorruptible seed, by the word of God, which liveth and 
abideth forever; and this is the word of God which by 
the gospel is preached unto you." 

As a religious people we have ever emphasized these 
great truths. We have ever made the plea that if the world 
is ever saved it must be through hearing, believing and 
obeying the Christ as he is proclaimed in his gospel. 

Now, if this is truly our faith, we ought to be the most 
thoroughly evangelistic people in the world. We ought to 
be fired with a consuming zeal to have the gospel preached 
throughout the world. We ought to be consumed with a 
burning enthusiasm that the people may come to know 
God. "For this is life eternal, that they may know thee, 
the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast 
sent." We should so love God, and so love our fellows, 
that we can not rest satisfied so long as there is one soul 
who has not had an opportunity to hear the gospel in 
its native purpose — purity and power. This obligation is 
laid upon us of high Heaven. We shirk it at the risk of 
our souls. There is no escape. God will not hold us 
guiltless for a failure here. If we lavish our time and 
means and energies upon ourselves while men are dying 
all about us — starving for the Bread of Life and famish- 
ing for the Living Waters — the result must be our ever- 
lasting shame and confusion and the destruction of our 
own souls. 



26 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

We save ourselves, under God, by saving others. We 
can not hope to go to heaven empty-handed. 

How would you like to wear a crown in heaven that 
was not bedecked with a single star ? Would you not feel 
lonesome? Would you not feel that the eyes of all the 
heavenly hosts were pityingly and reproachfully upon you ? 
Would it be heaven for you? 

You need not worry about that! I think God will 
have no crowns to be worn by the empty-handed. He does 
not want us to squeeze through the portals of glory. He 
wants us to have "an abundant entrance." 

What did Jesus mean when he exhorted us to "lay up 
treasure in heaven"? Did he not mean souls? What 
other treasure can we lay up there? Can we take our 
money? Our houses? Our lands? Our worldly pleas- 
ures? 

Plenty of people live as though they think they can 
lay all these up forever. They seem to think of little else. 

I repeat it, we save ourselves, under God, by saving 
others. 

Doubtless you have all heard of the man who saved 
himself from freezing to death by exerting himself to save 
his traveling companion from death. It is a story with a 
splendid moral. 

The ceaseless activities of the early church for the 
spread of the gospel; the sacrifices made by the people of 
God; the persecutions they endured; and the holy joy they 
experienced in these unselfish labors — should stimulate us 
to make the very most and best of our lives by living for 
the moral and spiritual uplift of humanity. 

Who can think of Stephen's martyrdom and then live 
simply for self-indulgence? 

Who can contemplate Peter and John in prison and 



EVANGELISM. 27 



not be moved to a deathless longing to help on the cause 
of Christ in the world? 

Who can listen to Paul's own recital — his graphic de- 
scriptions — of his labors, his sacrifices and his perils, and 
then fold his hands and say, "There is nothing for me to 
do !" ? Heaven pity his craven soul ! 

Who can study the lives of the Stones, the Campbells, 
the Scotts, the O'Kanes, the Hartzels, the Johnsons, the 
Creaths, the Franklins, the Erretts, et ah, and become ac- 
quainted with the story of their hardships — the things that 
they suffered for Christ's sake — and not want to pray, 
give and labor to bring men to acknowledge the Christ ? 

Above all, who can study this matter in the lights and 
shadows of Calvary, and not be moved with a heavenly 
impulse to save the world? 

After all, there is only one place to learn the supreme 
lessons of missions — State, General and Foreign Missions 
— and that is at the cross. 

Go, stand upon Golgotha's height; look upon yonder 
thorn-crowned head; see the blessed hands nail-pierced 
and torn ; listen to his call for divine sympathy ; hear him 
pray for them who pierced him, and hear his last despair- 
ing cry; and then go forth with the firm resolve that you 
will do more than ever before for the world. 

"When I survey the wondrous cross, 
On which the King of Glory died; 
My richest gain I count but loss, 
And pour contempt on all my pride. 

"See from his head, his hands, his feet, 
Sorrow and love flow mingled down; 
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, 
Or thorns compose so rich a crown? 



28 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

"Were the whole realm of Nature mine, 
It were a present far too small; 
Love so amazing, so divine, 

Demands my life, my soul, my all." 

OUR DUTIES. 

I. Our churches must be evangelistic. When a church 
loses the spirit of evangelism, it is ready to die. As a 
people we have been signally blessed and marvelously suc- 
cessful. 

\yhile the denominations have been bewailing their 
failures, our own increase, for months, has been from fif- 
teen hundred to three thousand additions every week. 
Pentecostal showers of blessing have been falling upon us. 
The inherent power of truth and the persistent proclama- 
tion of truth easily account for this wondrous growth. 
Truth of itself is powerless. It is inert. It is only power- 
ful when it is lived and championed by consecrated men 
and women. 

"Truth crushed to earth will rise again; 
The eternal years of God are hers," 

but it will only rise again as God's people take it up and 
propagate it by earnest, prayerful effort. 

If, then, we would avoid the sad wailings of the denomi- 
nations over the loss of vital force, their tearful jeremiads 
over a dearth of conversions, and their moanings over a 
spiritual famine, our churches must live in an atmos- 
phere of evangelism. Every congregation of our people 
should hold at least one series of evangelistic meetings each 
year. Two such meetings would be still better. 

II. Our preachers should do all they can to stimulate 
the spirit of evangelism. They should strive to inspire 
the church-members with a deathless desire to save men 



EVANGELISM. 21) 



and women, and lay the burden of souls upon their hearts. 

They should continue to make their sermons largely 
evangelistic. Teach the church; but constantly make the 
sinner receive "his portion in due season." 

They should continually extend the invitation to men 
and women to accept Christ. Our practice of closing every 
sermon with such invitation and opportunity should be 
steadfastly adhered to. It has been one of the secrets of 
great power. Peter, and the other apostles to whom the 
"keys of the kingdom" were given by our Lord, "opened 
the doors of the church" nearly two thousand years ago, 
and they have been wide open for the reception of penitents 
ever since. Keep this fact ever before the world. Make 
men understand the situation, and they will crowd into 
the kingdom and take it by very violence. 

Those who "open the doors of the church" at long 
intervals may not expect many to enter therein. In this 
respect we have great advantage over other religious bodies. 

III. By persistently and regularly observing all our 
missionary days we cultivate a missionary habit that will 
make itself felt. When we do all we can for the whole, of 
course we do all we can for the parts. We must not 
divorce the general and the local missionary methods. We 
must not go into spasms over the one, nor neglect the other, 
but work with equal earnestness for both. The failure to 
do this must be fatal to some of our missionary interests. 

IV. The preacher can help the cause of evangelism 
by going out to neighboring points of Sunday afternoons 
and preaching to them who are hungry for the gospel. 
Much can be done also of evenings through the week de- 
voted to such destitute places. 

V. The churches can do a good work by loaning their 
preachers at least for one meeting during the year in a 
field where we are not known. Even if such a meeting 



30 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

should not result in the organization of a church, it would 
teach "the people the way of the Lord more perfectly." 
Paul did not establish a church at Athens, but he did not 
hesitate to courteously and earnestly and logically call the 
attention of the philosophers away from their multiplicity 
of deities to the one God who "is not very far away from 
every one of us," and "in whom we live and move and 
have our being." Was not that a beneficent work? Phil- 
ip could not establish a church in the "place called desert ;" 
but he did not hesitate to preach Jesus to the Ethiopian, 
take his confession of faith, baptize him and send him 
on his way rejoicing. Our work is not simply to build and 
maintain churches, but it is to leaven the religious world 
with the purity and potency of Bible teaching. 

The Campbells, and their coadjutors, in the beginning 
of their "Restoration" did not attempt to establish separate 
church organizations. This was furthest from their 
thought. They labored to establish peace instead of strife 
among the religious bodies; unity instead of division; 
fraternity instead of alienation ; the teaching of the Bible 
instead of the teaching of discordant creeds, and the su- 
preme authority of the Christ instead of popes, prelates, 
priests and councils. They supposed the world would be 
glad to receive these precious truths. They were only sur- 
prised and grieved because of the inhospitable treatment 
they received, and were at last compelled to organize con- 
gregations that would foster and promote the movement 
for the restoration of the Christianity of Christ. 

Now the world is more hospitable to truth. The Pope 
is "a prisoner." His temporal power is broken. Prelates 
are despised. Priests can't dominate the people. 

May Heaven bless us in the work of evangelism — 
bless the workers, bless the payers, bless the prayers, bless 
us all — every one, and endow us with wisdom from above, 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 31 

invest us with a holy zeal and fill our hearts with heavenly 
love. And when we fall at last may it be with our faces 
godward and heavenward, and our lives panoplied in the 
whole armor of God. 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 

There can be no doubt that infidelity and sectarianism 
have either resulted from ignorance of the Bible, or from 
an improper study of the Sacred Oracles and a misappli- 
cation of its teaching. Many persons think the Bible is 
jumbled together, without any divine order and arrange- 
ment; hence, they condemn the Book, and deny that it is 
inspired of God. 

An old man once remarked : "The Bible is like an old 
fiddle, upon which you can play any tune you like. The 
Bible is a bundle of contradictions, and any doctrine, how- 
ever absurd, can be proved from its pages." Now, such 
a view of the Bible can only originate from an improper 
study of its sacred pages. 

In the nineteenth Psalm, David extols the book of 
nature and the book of revelation, and traces the hand- 
writing of God in each. The careful student of nature can 
see beauty and order and symmetry everywhere. The sea- 
sons come and go, year after year, in an unceasing round, 
and the millions of worlds describe their varied move- 
ments, without jar or collision. Everywhere in nature he 
reads: "Order is Heaven's first law." 

Now, if he will as studiously scan the pages of the 
Bible, he will be forced to the conclusion that the God 
of nature is the God of revelation. As we let nature inter- 
pret itself, so we must permit the Bible to be its own 
interpreter ; and as each part of nature is in harmony with 



32 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

every other part, so we must interpret each passage of 
Scripture in harmony with every other passage. These 
two rules of interpretation are just and right, and we 
can not place too much stress upon them. We are gov- 
erned by these laws in the study of all other books. If we 
take up a book on mathematics or political economy, we 
do not put any forced or foreign interpretation upon them, 
but we expect the authors to explain themselves. Why not 
approach the Bible with the like spirit? 

How should we study the Bible? Some one is ready 
to answer, "Just sit down and read it from Genesis to 
Revelation." I once heard a man boast that he had read 
it through seven times, upon his knees. That may have 
been true, and yet leave him in ignorance of what the 
Bible teaches. I would call that method of reading, "The 
stuffing process." Perhaps it is better than none, but that 
is about all that can be said in its favor. 

In 2 Tim. 2:15 we have the key to the proper method 
of study: "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a 
workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing 
the word of truth." This passage divides itself into three 
parts, viz. : 

1. Study for God's approval. 

2. Study in a workmanlike way. 

3. Study to rightly divide the Word. 

Study for God's approval. The importance of this can 
not be overestimated. This rule can not be observed unless 
we are willing to lay aside all prejudice. A prejudiced 
man is one who judges beforehand, and it is impossible 
for a man of this type to be in a proper frame of mind 
to study to be approved of God. He studies to meet the 
approval of his own biased judgment. There are all too 
many such Bible-readers in the world. Men study to 
make the Bible bend to their preconceived notions and 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 33 

opinions, or to meet the approval of the dogmas of "our 
church" or to pander to the approval of the unwholesome 
tastes and appetites of public opinion. When I take up 
a Chicago Sunday paper, and scan the subjects announced 
for many of the city pulpits, the sensational character of 
these subjects compels me to believe that many of their 
authors are studying to meet the approval of men rather 
than the approval of God. An old man, who always had 
his crotchets, tried to make the Bible bend to their sup- 
port. His wife finally grew weary of this procedure, and 
administered this deserved rebuke: "Now, old man, just 
take the Bible this one time, and let God talk to you." 
In this homely way she suggested a golden idea. The Bible 
is God's message to man, and it is man's duty to hear and 
accept just what God is pleased to teach. "Lord, speak, 
and thy servant heareth." Like Mary, we should sit at 
the feet of the Master with teachable minds and hearts. 
Too many, alas ! read the Bible with a vail over the heart— 
a vail of prejudice and bigotry and pet theories and tra- 
ditions. When men look through such spectacles, is it any 
wonder that the Bible appears, to their beclouded vision, 
a bundle of contradictions? Oh for the faith of Saul of 
Tarsus, that enabled him to cry, "Lord, what wilt thou 
have me to do ?" ! 

Study in a workmanlike manner. We mean by this 
that there should be system and order in our Bible study. 
But little can be learned of its contents without this, and 
that little is as likely to be learned amiss, as any other way. 

If you gather together costly material for a beautiful 
edifice, and employ workmen to construct your building, 
you bind them up in a strict article to do everything in 
a workmanlike manner. If they fail to do this, you are 
under no obligations to accept their work or pay them 
wages. 



34 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

God has been at great cost to build up a system by 
which we may be saved. Everything is prepared for our 
use, and each part is adapted to some particular end. He 
w T ants us to construct a spiritual house that will stand the 
crucial test in the judgment. It is necessary for us to 
take heed how we build. The apostle Peter says there 
is danger of wresting the Scriptures to our own destruc- 
tion. A very easy way to do this is to wrongly apply the 
books of the Bible. 

Many persons seem to think that the Bible is one book, 
written by one person, for one purpose, and intended equal- 
ly for all men. This is a grave error. The Bible, as we 
now have it, is one volume ; but it contains sixty-six books. 
These books were written by about thirty-seven persons. 
About sixteen hundred years transpired between the periods 
when the first and the last book were written. The books 
of the Bible were addressed to a great variety of persons, 
under a great variety of circumstances, and were inspired 
by a great variety of purposes. 

In order to have an intelligent idea of the Bible it is 
important that we know who wrote a given book, when it 
was written, why it was written, and to whom it is ad- 
dressed. 

Were a letter to come to your address, it would be very 
unsatisfactory unless you could determine who was the 
the writer, when it was written, and it would be especially 
vexing if you could not gather the object of the letter. 

Now, this is one thing we mean when we speak of 
studying in a workmanlike manner. When you approach 
a book, determine, if possible, who is the writer. We al- 
ways read an article in the paper with more interest if 
we know who wrote it. In some of the sacred books it is 
not difficult to learn the writer's name. In most of the 
Epistles of the New Testament the writers have intro- 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 35 



duced themselves by name. In many of these books, how- 
ever, it is not so easy to determine the author. After 
learning what we can of the authorship of a book, we 
should determine w T ho it was intended for. Much de- 
pends upon this. Some portions w r ere intended only for 
Jews. Some were intended for Jewish converts to Chris- 
tianity. Some were intended for Gentile converts. Some 
parts are for sinners only, and some are exclusively for 
disciples. Xow you can see at once that grave errors may 
follow a mistake here. Preachers have often been guilty 
by applying to the sinner that which was intended ex- 
clusively for the Jew or the Christian, and many of them 
are as likely to go to the law of Moses as to the law of 
Christ, to tell a sinner how to be saved. If the blind 
lead the blind, w T hat wonder if both fall into the ditch ! 

We should determine, if possible, when a book was 
written and the circumstances that called it out. Above 
all, we must know why it was written. This is absolutely 
necessary. A mistake here is fatal. In some instances 
the purpose is plainly stated by the writer ; as, in the Gos- 
pel by John, that by Luke and the Acts of Apostles. In 
other instances a careful study of the book is necessary 
before we can find the purpose of the author. These 
thoughts will be amplified and illustrated in another ar- 
ticle. 

A good way to study the Bible is to select some Bible 
subject and gather up all the passages bearing on that sub- 
ject. Take some such theme as "Faith/* or "Prayer/ 5 
or "Giving/* and study them in connection with all the 
parallel passages that have any reference to them. By 
this method you will avoid a narrow, circumscribed view 
of the Bible. The great sin of this age is that method 
of Bible study that takes a passage away from its context 



36 SEEMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

and its parallel passages, and builds up a narrow, re- 
stricted system of theology on that isolated passage. 

To this procedure the religious world owes its doctrine 
of "faith only," "blood only," "grace only," and it is by 
this method only that denominationalism can be sustained. 
Men have not studied the Bible in a workmanlike manner, 
hence all the distorted theories and contradictory doc- 
trines that curse Christendom to-day. The fault is not in 
the material that God has furnished, but with the work- 
men, who, instead of building up one grand superstructure 
such as God ordained, have pitched their little tents "over 
against each other," and from the door of their tents they 
call to each passerby, "Ho ! this way ! here is Christ !" 

Rightly divide the Word. In former articles we have 
shown the necessity of studying in such a way as to meet 
God's approval, and that this can only be done by study- 
ing in a workmanlike manner. In this we call attention 
to a proper division of the Word. These three things are 
logically dependent upon each other. To meet God's ap- 
proval, we must study in a workmanlike way; and to 
study as a workman that need not be ashamed, we must 
rightly divide the Scriptures. 

What is meant by the proper division of the Word? 
As we have seen heretofore, there are many who have no 
proper conception of the apostle's meaning. I have often 
heard men pray that the preacher may be able to "rightly 
divide the word of truth, and give to saint and sinner 
their portion in due season." Evidently this petition lim- 
ited their conception of a proper division of the Bible. 
It is all right to give saints and sinners their respective 
portion in due season, but this can only be done by a 
knowledge of the various parts of the Bible, and a proper 
application of these several parts. 

The Bible is one volume, but it contains grand divi- 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 37 

sions and subdivisions. The grand divisions are called, 
respectively, the Old Testament and the New Testament. 
In this article we can only call attention to these. It is 
common to confound these parts of the Scripture, and this 
may account largely for the confusion that now exists in 
the religious world. All religions have their basis in cer- 
tain ideas. If these basic ideas are confused, how can the 
religions growing out of them be otherwise ? By confound- 
ing the Old and New Testaments, men naturally conclude 
that the church of Jesus Christ is but an extension, or re- 
modeling and perfecting, of the Abrahamic church, rather 
than a new institution. Can we wonder that preachers who 
believe this go as often to the Pentateuch or the Psalms of 
David to tell a sinner what to do to be saved, or a Christian 
how to live, as to the Acts of Apostles or the letters to the 
churches? This is perfectly legitimate, if the church of 
Christ and the "church in the wilderness" are the same. 
Neither is it a matter of surprise that infants are admitted 
into the churches, if this theory is correct. They were cer- 
tainly included in the Abrahamic institution; why, then, 
exclude them from the church of Christ? This confusion 
of ideas has given rise to many corruptions in the religious 
world, such as priestcraft, infant baptism, confounding the 
Sabbath and the Lord's Day, etc. 

Jesus and the apostles were at great pains to prevent 
such a misconception of the Bible. Jesus said, "Upon this 
rock I will build my church." From this language it is 
clear that the church of Christ had no existence at that 
time. Again : "Men do not put new wine into old bottles, 
or a new piece of cloth to an old garment." These simply 
teach that his church is not an extension of the old. The 
apostle Paul makes the distinction very clear. He says: 
"Before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up 
unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 



38 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

Wherefore, the law was our schoolmaster to bring us 
unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith; but after 
that faith is come we are no longer under a schoolmaster" 
(Gal. 3:23-25). This whole Galatian letter was written 
to undo the mischief done by Judaizing teachers, and to 
teach the brethren that they were not subject to the law 
of the Old Testament. This seems to be a lesson hard 
for men to learn, even in our day. 

Again: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when 
I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and 
with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant 
that I made with their fathers in the day when I took 
them by the hand to lead them out of Eg}^pt; because 
they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them 
not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will 
make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the 
Lord : I will put my laws into their mind, and write them 
in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they 
shall be to me a people: and they shall not teach every 
man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 
Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least 
to the greatest" (Heb. 8:8-11). The old covenant re- 
ferred to here is that contained in the law of Moses. 
This new covenant which God has made in Christ is not 
according to that. That was written upon the tables of 
stone, but this is written upon the hearts of the people. 
Children were included in that old covenant, and had to 
be taught the law after they were grown up. Under the 
new covenant all must be taught before they come into 
covenant relation to God. (See Matt. 28:19.) That 
we are no longer under the Old Testament is apparent 
from the closing verse of the eighth chapter of Hebrews: 
"In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 39 

old. Now that which decays and grows old is ready to 
vanish away." 

Again : Christ is spoken of as "the mediator of a new 
testament" (Heb. 9:15). The words "testament" and 
"will" are synonymous. Christ is the mediator of a new 
will. Xow, every one knows that if a man makes a dozen 
wills during his life, the last one disannuls all the others. 
So, when Christ became the mediator of a new testament 
or will, it is the only one that "is of force" (Heb. 9: 
16, 17). 

We are now prepared to see the importance of a proper 
division of the Word. I know of no mistake more fatal 
to the prosperity of Zion than to mix up Judaism with 
Christianity, and I can not understand why men want to 
be "entangled with the yoke of bondage" — a yoke that was 
too grievous for the Jewish fathers to bear. 

We are not under the Old Testament dispensation, 
and we are not governed by Old Testament law. Neither 
will God judge those who live under this dispensation by 
the Old Testament. Such a course would be as unjust as 
to judge a citizen of the United States by the laws of 
Great Britain. 

"Have you no use, then, for the Old Testament?" 
Much, every way. The Old Testament is the key that un- 
locks the treasure-house of the New. Its systems of type, 
shadow and prophecy adjust themselves to the antitype, 
substance and fulfillment of the New, as the various parts 
of a complicated machine adjust themselves to each other. 
They are dependent one upon the other. Either would be 
an inexplicable enigma without the other. We only ob- 
ject to the Old as a law by which we must be governed 
and judged. "0 foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched 
you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes 
Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth crucified among 



40 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the 
Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith ? 
Are ye so foolish ? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now 
made perfect by the flesh? Have ye suffered so many 
things in vain?" (Gal. 3:1-4). 

THE OLD TESTAMENT. 

The Old Testament has three grand divisions, viz.: 
the historical books, the poetical books and the prophetical 
books. The Saviour indicated these parts just before his 
ascension to the Father. "And he said unto them, These 
are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet 
with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were 
written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in 
the psalms, concerning me" (Luke 24:44). 

A mere glance at the Old Testament will confirm this 
division. From the Book of Genesis to the Book of Job 
we find "Law." Some may object to our speaking of all 
these books as the law, but the objection is easily removed. 
Genesis is an introductory book, and in it the way is pre- 
pared for the giving of the law. Exodus contains the law 
as given to Moses. All the other books within the above- 
mentioned limits contain the history of the peculiar peo- 
ple to whom the law was given, and illustrate the develop- 
ment and working of the law itself. Such, then, is the 
relation of all these books to the law, and their depend- 
ence upon it, that we may safely class them under this 
one division, "The Law." 

From the Book of Job to the Book of Isaiah is con- 
tained the poetry of the Bible, or the Psalms. From 
Isaiah to Malachi, the last of the Old Testament books, 
is prophecy. 

These parts are subdivided. The law or historical part 
of the Old Testament is made up of many books. These 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 41 

several books were written by a variety of individuals, 
and for a variety of purposes. 

"Genesis" is the first book. I believe that unbelievers 
as well as Christians look upon Moses as the writer of 
this and the four books that follow, known as the Penta- 
teuch. 

The word "genesis" means creation. Thus the name 
of the book indicates its purpose. It contains an account 
of the creation of the world. It reveals to man his origin, 
his primitive state, the introduction of evil, the degeneracy 
of the race, the causes that led to the flood and the inci- 
dents connected therewith, and the peculiar histories of 
the three fathers of the Jewish family — Abraham, Isaac 
and Jacob. 

The name of the second book, "Exodus," also suggests 
its purpose. The literal meaning of the word is going 
out, and it records the going out of the children of Israel 
from the land of Egypt, and the remarkable circumstances 
that led to the exodus and those immediately following 
it, among which is the giving of the law amid the thun- 
ders of Mt. Sinai,' and the erection of a tabernacle for the 
worship of God in the wilderness of Arabia. 

We also gather the purpose of the third book from its 
name. It is called "Numbers," because the children of 
Israel were twice numbered in the wilderness, and this 
book contains a record of the enumeration. The book 
also records the history of Israel during thirty-eight years. 

"Leviticus," so named from the tribe of Levi, the tribe 
of priests, relates to the selection of the Jewish priest- 
hood, and the laws by which it was governed. 

"Deuteronomy" means "the repetition of the law' 9 
and gives a kind of recapitulation of the whole history 
of the Jews from the call of Abraham, to the borders of 



42 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

Canaan, with the closing scenes of the eventful life of 
Moses. 

"Joshua" records the battles between the Jews and 
their enemies, and the conquest and possession of Canaan, 
with the apportionment to each tribe. 

"Judges" contains the history of the Israelites under 
the rule of the judges. There were fifteen of these judges, 
and their history covers a period of about four hundred 
3 r ears. 

The Book of Euth is a beautiful love story, and fur- 
nishes a link in the genealogy of Christ from David to 
Abraham. 

From 1 Samuel to the Book of Job is history, in 
which are recorded the successes and reverses, the fidelity 

and the infidelity of the Jewish nation down to their dis- 

«/ 

persion and captivity. I have not the time nor the space 
to review these books. It is not necessary for me to do so. 
Suffice it to say that, in all this first grand division of 
the Old Testament, there is not one word addressed to the 
sinner under the Christian dispensation, to tell him what 
to do to be saved. Notwithstanding all this, the majority 
of the preachers are wont to go to these books for this 
purpose ! Is not this wresting the Scriptures ? 

The Book of Job teaches patience, and that no com- 
bination of circumstances, or depth of sorrow, or extreme 
affliction, should shake a man's faith in God, or swerve 
him from his integrity of character. It is a grand book to 
study. 

The Psalms teach the language of praise, prayer, 
thanksgiving, repentance, contrition, confession, self-abne- 
gation and God-glorification. We often hear Christians 
say they can not pray. Here is a book to teach them to 
pray, and it expresses every want of the human heart, 
and touches every experience common to man. With such 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 43 

a book in the reach of all, there is no excuse for a prayer- 
less Christian. 

The "Proverbs" may be called a business guide. It 
teaches parents how to teach and govern children, and 
the children how to honor and respect parents. It teaches 
us how to be wise and shun the way of fools. It teaches 
the young man how to choose a good wife, how to avoid 
the drunkard's doom, and to shun the wicked woman, 
whose ways lead down to hell. It teaches strict honesty 
and integrity in our dealings with our fellows, and cau- 
tions men against going surety even for their friends. We 
can do no better than to commend the oft-repeated study 
of this book to all who may read this article. 

The "Song of Solomon," in highly colored imagery, 
pictures the glorious reign of Christ in the ages to come, 
and his admiration for, and undying attachment to, the 
church which is the Lamb's wife. 

"Ecclesiastes" sings of the vanity of all earthly things, 
and demonstrates the fact that wealth and ambition and 
self-indulgence and sinful pleasure can not satisfy the 
cravings of the human soul, and that to fear God and keep 
his commandments is the whole duty of man. 

From "Isaiah" to "Malachi" is prophecy. By the 
study of these we can see how God unfolded the scheme 
of redemption and ripened the world for the coming of 
Christ. Said the Saviour: "Search the scriptures; for 
in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they 
which testify of me." These prophets foretold nearly all 
the wondrous circumstances connected with the mission 
of Jesus. By the spirit of prophecy they spoke of his 
birth, the attempts at his life, his flight into Egypt, his 
forerunner, his consecration, his teaching, miracles, trials, 
condemnation, death, burial, resurrection, ascension and 
coronation. These circumstances, and a multitude of 



44 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

others more minute, were as vividly portrayed, though 
spoken a thousand years before the coming of Christ, as 
though the prophets had stood in his matchless presence 
and had been "eye-witnesses of his majesty." 

Surely, these Old Testament Scriptures testify of 
Christ, and every unbeliever should stand rebuked by the 
words of Jesus: "If they will not hear Moses and the 
prophets, neither will they believe though one arise from 
the dead." 

What a wonderful volume is this Old Testament ! It 
covers a period of four thousand years. It is the only 
volume in the world that reveals the origin of the universe, 
and teaches man from whence he came. Without it, at 
least two thousand years of the world's history would bo 
enveloped in impenetrable darkness. Its wonderful sys- 
tem of types and shadows and prophecy acted, during all 
those ages, as a schoolmaster to lead the minds of the 
people to Christ and redemption. Written by many au- 
thors, far removed from each other by time and distance, 
who can account for its beauty, order and unity upon any 
other hypothesis than that the hand that wrote it is divine ? 

THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

There are four principal parts, or divisions, in the 
New Testament ; viz. : Testimony, History, Epistles, Proph- 
ecy. 

The books bearing the names of Matthew, Mark, Luke 
and John are commonly called "Histories of Christ," but 
it is very clear that they were not intended by their 
writers as histories, but simply as testimonies, and in them 
they only testify to a few of the leading discourses and 
principal events in our Saviour's life. John says, if he had 
attempted to write a history of Jesus, the world would 
not contain the books. 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 45 

Many persons think it strange that these writers did 
not record the same events, but they are much more valu- 
able as they are. Had they all testified to the same things, 
and in the same style, we might justly conclude that they 
had conspired together to invent the story of Christ, or 
that one person had written them all; and this would 
shake the foundations of our faith. But when we think 
of them as four different men, writing at different periods, 
recording different events in the Saviour's life, and each 
in his own peculiar style, and perfect harmony between 
them all, we are persuaded that they were guided by heav- 
enly wisdom. 

The purpose or object of these books is the same, and 
it is distinctly stated by John: "Many other signs truly 
did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not 
written in this book; but these are written, that ye might 
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and 
that believing ye might have life through his name" 
(John 20:30, 31). 

They were written to produce faith in Christ. I do 
not believe that any man can read carefully the "four 
Gospels," and diligently study the character of Christ as 
there portrayed, and then pronounce him an impostor. 
The great cause of infidelity to-day, and always, is a pro- 
found ignorance of God's word. Young men in their 
"teens" will boastfully say, "I don't believe the Bible," 
when they are as ignorant of its contents as "the man in 
the moon." They can not even mention the books of the 
Bible, or mention the contents of any one of them. Even 
Tom Paine admitted that he had not given the Bible a 
careful study. If it is honest to condemn a book before 
we know anything about its contents, then I know not 
what honesty is. But this is the treatment that the Bible 
has always received from the infidel world. Ingersoll said 



46 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

that he devoted three months to reading the Bible to see if 
it was true, but it only confirmed him in his unbelief. 
Wonderful ! There is no man that can study the Bible, 
and "read between the lines," in three months. The 
greatest minds of earth have spent whole lives in the study 
of the Bible, and then felt that they had only begun to 
know its beauty and its depth. 

A careful study of the "four Gospels" will produce 
faith in Christ. As we follow carefully the impress of 
the divine feet, as seen in the circumstances of his birth, 
his childhood, his consecration, his sermons, his miracles, 
his wondrous love and forbearance, his trials and his 
death, burial and resurrection, and his ascension, we are 
compelled, like Nicodemus, to believe him a "teacher sent 
from God," and as we stand in the presence of his match- 
less life and behold the wondrous symmetry of his char- 
acter, with Thomas we are compelled to cry out, "My 
Lord and my God!" 

If preachers would get more of these Gospels in their 
sermons and less philosophy, and more of Christ and less 
of polemics, there would he more souls won to God. Paul, 
with his brilliant intellect and philosophical mind, de- 
termined to know nothing but Christ and him crucified, 
and we should profit by his example. In his discourse 
before Agrippa and his sermon to the Athenians, he tells 
the simple story of Christ in a very simple manner, but 
Agrippa was almost persuaded, and the Athenians for- 
sook their idols. 

Preachers get the idea that they must follow Darwin 
through all the "ins and outs" of evolution, and by this 
process almost everything has been evolved from their 
sermons but Christ. This attempt to draw preachers into 
a discussion of Darwinism, Ingersollism, etc., is only a 
ruse of the devil to draw us away from our legitimate 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 47 

work of winning souls, and great harm has been done. 
When Hannibal and his army were in the mountain fast- 
nesses of Italy, the Eomans held all the passes and 
thought their enemy could not possibly escape. The 
crafty Hannibal waited until the cover of the darkness, 
and then bound lighted torches to the horns of his cattle, 
and then drove them over the heights. The Eomans 
thought Hannibal's army were attempting to escape in 
that direction. They abandoned the passes, ran after the 
cattle and Hannibal and his army quietly escaped. So 
Darwin, Huxlejr, Ingersoll, et al., have lighted their feeble 
torches, and we have been foolish enough to run after 
them, leaving the passes of sin and destruction open, and 
thousands rushing through them down to death. This 
has been the folly of the ministry. We have rejoiced dur- 
ing the past year that the secular and religious papers 
of this country have given our people and plea a full and 
free advertisement; but have we not given as full and 
free publicity to the teaching of infidelity? And do not 
the cohorts of Satan rejoice at the stupidity of the re- 
ligious world? 

One of our preachers was engaged in a very interesting 
and successful meeting in Iowa, when a bold, self-import- 
ant man approached him with some objections to his 
preaching, and challenged him to a debate. The preacher 
replied, "I have not time nor inclination to quit catching 
sheep just to shear a hog." Neither have any of our 
preachers time to follow the unprincipled enemies of 
Christ in their unprincipled attacks upon Christianity. 
Let us study Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and drink 
deeply of the spirit of Him of whom they write, and it 
will not only strengthen our own faith, but we can 
lead others into the same. 

We have seen that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John 



48 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

were written that men might believe that Jesus is the 
Christ. After a man has carefully studied these, he comes 
to the conclusion that Jesus is a divine Being, and, believ- 
ing this, he is pierced to the heart with a conviction of 
having sinned against him. He now wants to know just 
what to do in order to be brought into the favor of Him 
against whom he has sinned. Like the jailer at Philippi, 
he cries out, "What must I do to be saved ?" 

Surely he would be in a deplorable condition if God 
had failed to give a definite answer to this question. 
Were he to go to many religious teachers of modern times, 
he would receive many vague and unmeaning answers, 
and many that were contradictory. Fortunately, he is 
not left to the "contradictions of orthodoxy" for an an- 
swer. 

Many honest inquirers who have been led to believe 
on Christ have gone to these modern teachers to learn how 
to be saved, and have been driven back into infidelity by 
the vague and indefinite answers they have received. 

We would refer all such inquirers to the "Acts of the 
Apostles/' This is the second division, or historical part, 
of the New Testament. It contains an account of the 
setting up of the kingdom of Christ and of the spread of 
that kingdom to all parts of the world. It is the history 
of conversions under the ministry of the apostles who 
spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. In this 
small book there are twelve or fifteen thousand conver- 
sions recorded. In every instance definite answers were 
given to the question, "What shall I do to be saved?" 

Have I among my readers an anxious inquirer? 
Bead the Acts of Apostles. It is a small book of only 
twenty-eight chapters, and can be read in a few hours. 
If you are honest and unprejudiced, you will not quit the 
book in doubt as to your plain duty. 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 49 

Remember that whatever was required of men under 
the ministry of the apostles, is required now. The law 
of pardon has never been changed. To assist you in this 
work, I refer you to the following chapters: 2, 3, 8, 16, 
22. Xo unconverted man, of common intelligence, can 
read these chapters and remain ignorant as to his duty. 

But here is a man who has studied the Gospels and 
believed on Christ and complied with the conditions of 
pardon as found in the Acts of Apostles. He is now a 
Christian, but he has many years yet to live. The way 
seems dark before him. He is assured that many tempta- 
tions and sorrows, and even persecutions, will come upon 
him. His heart yearns for a guide-book that will direct 
him safely over the stormy path of life. God has merci- 
fully provided a way-bill in the third division of the 
New Testament. 

The Epistles were written to teach him how to run 
the Christian race and fight the fight of faith. This part 
of the Bible should be his daily study. He finds it a much 
more arduous work to live a Christian than to become 
such. He became a Christian in a day, but all the re- 
mainder of his life is required to live a Christian. If he 
stops short of death, he will lose his reward. Only one 
little book was necessary to tell him how to obtain par- 
don, while thirteen are required to teach him how to be 
faithful. He studies carefully these thirteen letters. 
They teach him how to develop those graces that make 
human life pure and beautiful. They furnish him a 
ladder whose foot is on the earth, and whose other ex- 
tremity reaches to the very courts of glory. The first 
rung in that ladder is faith. Then follows heroism, 
then knowledge, then temperance, then patience, then 
godliness, then brotherly-kindness, and, last of all, char- 
ity, or universal love. As he climbs this ladder step by 



50 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

step, he has the assurance of Heaven that he shall never 
fall, but that an abundant entrance shall be adminis- 
tered unto him into the everlasting kingdom of our 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Inspired by this prom- 
ise, he presses on in the face of every obstacle and 
joyously sings : 

"Higher yet and higher, 
Out of clouds and night, 
Nearer yet and nearer 
Rising to the light — 

"Oft these earnest longings 
Swell within my breast; 
Yet their inner meaning 
Ne'er can be expressed." 

We follow him in his upward journey until he has 
reached the last rung in the ladder. He is covered with 
the scars of many a conflict. His head is covered with 
the hoary frosts of age. The time of his departure is 
near at hand. Before he passes beyond the vale that in- 
tervenes between earth and heaven, he earnestly longs 
to know what is to be the future of the church to which 
he has devoted the long and struggling years of his life. 

God had given him the "Book of Bevelation" by 
which he catches a glimpse of the destiny of Zion. It 
serves as a telescope and reveals the spread of Chris- 
tianity, its influence upon the nations, its captivity to 
Borne, its triumph over its enemies, and the glory that 
awaits the church. In the Xew Jerusalem which awaits 
him, there are to be no such conflicts as those through 
which he has passed. He is assured that "God shall 
wipe away all tears from his eyes, and there shall be 
no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall 
there be any more pain; for the former things are passed 



AT THE FEET OF JESUS. 51 

away." He carefully and rapturously traces the lines 
till, near the close of the Book, he comes to these words: 
"Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they 
may have a right to the tree of life, and may enter in 
through the gates into the city." His soul is satisfied. 
The gates of heaven swing wide, and amid the music 
of the angels' harps, and the sweet songs of the blood- 
washed throng, he is ushered into the presence of his 
God, there to dwell forevermore. 

Surely the Bible is the Book of God ! The first chap- 
ters tell how man was driven away from the tree of life 
and the city of God. The last chapters restore to him 
all that is lost. All the intermediate parts reveal the 
process by which God accomplishes this redemption and 
restoration. Surely Milton had a fine basis for his "Par- 
adise Lost" and "Paradise Kegained." 

"Oh! sweet Bible, I will hide thee, 
Hide thee richly in my heart, 
And through all my life thou'lt guide me, 
And in death we will not part. 

"Part in death? No, never! never! 

Through death's vale I'll lean on thee, 
Then in worlds above, forever, 

Sweeter still thy truth shall be." 



AT THE FEET OF JESUS. 

I. 

"Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought 
a good work upon me/' 

These are the words of Jesus addressed to his dis- 
ciples at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper. He 
was with a number of other guests attending a feast 



52 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

(Jesus did not scorn these common pleasures of life 
even when so near his death), and while sitting at the 
festal board there came unto him a woman having an 
alabaster box of precious ointment, which she poured 
on his head. But when his disciples saw it they were 
indignant, and said: "Why is this waste? This oint- 
ment might have been sold for much and given to the 
poor." When Jesus understood it he said: "Why trouble 
ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon 
me." 

When Jesus was in the world he administered many 
rebukes and some of them very severe, but he never 
rebuked any one for being too liberal or too benevolent. 
He who gave himself for humanity never censured others 
for liberal giving. The spirit of giving is the spirit of 
Christ. He was rich, but for our sakes became poor. 
He possessed the wealth of the universe, but became so 
poor that he had not where to lay his head; so poor 
that when a friend once proposed to go home with him 
and stay all night, he was compelled to tell him that he 
had no home ! Jesus was a Prince, and he was certainly 
princely in giving. How like him, then, to pronounce 
blessings upon all those who manifested any inclina- 
tion to be large and liberal-hearted. 

But the disciples were of a different spirit. They 
mistook liberality for wastefulness, and the ever-ready 
excuse was present with them, "It might have been de- 
voted to other uses." 

It has ever been so. Thousands to-day stand ready 
to excuse a miserly, niggardly spirit and cover up their 
stinginess under some pious (?) pretext. 

Thus when the brethren at considerable expense in 
money and time attend our great missionary conven- 
tions, and devise ways and means for carrying the gos- 



AT THE FEET OP JESUS. 



pel to the destitute places of the earth, these captious 
critics sit down and estimate carefully all the cost of 
time spent, the railroad fares and the hotel bills, and 
then roll up their pious eyes and exclaim: "Wherefore 
is this waste? It might have been given to the poor/' 
Whereas, if the truth were known, I doubt not it would 
be found that those who are criticized give to the poor 
tenfold more than their critics. If Jesus were here, he 
would doubtless say: "Why trouble ye these convention 
brethren? they have wrought a good work on me." 

Again: When we are at such pains and expense to 
send the gospel to the heathen, there are those who will 
plead the pious fraud, "There are plenty of heathen at 
home to convert." Thus they would stifle that Christ- 
like longing for the conversion of the whole world, not 
recognizing the fact that "the heathen at home could 
obey the gospel if they would, and the heathen abroad 
would obey the gospel if they could/' A preacher once 
visited a town to conduct a series of gospel meetings. 
An old brother met him at the train and said: "Please 
do not say anything in your sermons about preaching 
the gospel to the heathen. We have so many heathen 
right here at home." The preacher did not say whether 
he would or would not; but that night, when he met 
his audience, he addressed them, "My dear brethren and 
friendly heathen!" Imagine the surprise and conster- 
nation of that audience! And no one was more sur- 
prised than the old brother himself. Thus the sophistry 
of his plea was effectually exposed. Methinks if Jesus, 
who died for those at home and abroad, were here, he 
would say: "Let these foreign missionaries alone. They 
have wrought a good work upon me." 



54 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

II. 

When Jesus sent his disciples out upon their first 
evangelistic work, he gave them authority and power 
to work miracles and commanded them to "heal the 
sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out 
devils/' and as a reason for these benefactions he said, 
"Freely ye have received, freely give" (Matt. 10:8). 

Now, this expression "freely," as applied to giving, 
is nearly always misinterpreted and misapplied. It is 
generally applied to the disposition or spirit of the giver, 
and a multitude of sins have found a covert behind this 
false exegesis. 

Thus the rich man may drop a nickel into the con- 
tribution-box with a self-satisfied air, and say in his 
little heart, "I will not give much; but what I do give 
I will give freely. It goes as free as water." Then he 
comforts his miserly soul with that glorious passage of 
Scripture, "The Lord loves a cheerful giver." And he 
thinks he has logic as well as Scripture on his side. 
He can even put it into syllogistic form. Witness the 
following : 

1. The Lord loves a cheerful giver. 

2. I gave my nickel most cheerfully. 

3. Therefore the Lord loves me. 

Oh, if he could see the poverty and sinfulness of 
his heart, as the Lord sees it, he would hang his head 
in shame, and have the demon of covetousness cast out, 
even though it could only be done by fasting and prayer, 
and it should tear and rend him in its departure. 

What does our blessed Saviour mean when he says, 
"Freely have ye received, freely give"? Supply the word 
"abundantly," and the meaning is at once apparent. 
Abundantly ye have received, abundantly give. When 



AT THE FEET OF JESUS. 55 

this is done, and done with a cheerful spirit, and not 
until then — then may the precious assurance belong to 
us, "The Lord loves a cheerful giver." 

I heard of a millionaire who was presented with a 
subscription paper for some benevolent work. He said, 
"Well, I will give the widow's mite." "All right," said 
the man who carried the paper, "give me a cheque for 
a million dollars." "What do you mean?" said the mil- 
lionaire. "I mean," said the other, "that the widow's 
mite was all she had, and if you do as she did, you 
must give all you have." The rich man saw, as never 
before, how he had been wresting the Scripture to his 
own destruction. 

Freely we have received. God is always "on the 
giving hand." His gifts abound in nature and in grace. 
The flowers give their beauty and their perfume, the 
sun his light and heat, the clouds their rain and cool- 
ing shadows, the earth its fruits and grains. All nature 
is bounteous. Only man is niggardly. 

We have received so abundantly the grace and love 
of God, and yet we refuse to give abundantly in order 
to carry the gospel to those who know not the love and 
grace of God. All our mission work is crippled for the 
want of abundant givers. 

Would that the eyes of the blind were opened that 
they might see the harvest of the world white for the 
reapers. 

III. 

"And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, 
filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon 
him." 

These are the simple words of the Scriptures about 
the child Jesus. Those who are curious to know much 



56 SERMON'S, ESSAYS AKD OUTLINES. 

about his childhood must be doomed to disappointment. 
We have but little said in the Gospels of the first thirty 
years of Jesus' life, but what is said is "like the glorious 
sunlight through the rifted cloud." 

In the earlier ages of the church the desire to know 
the infancy and childhood of Jesus became so great 
that the fertile imaginations and superstitions of the 
people crystallized into apocryphal Gospels in which many 
grotesque and absurd stories about the young child are 
related. Their very absurdity is the certain evidence of 
their spurious origin. 

The purpose of the true Gospels is to introduce the 
Saviour to the world, and as he did not enter upon this 
work of saving men until he was thirty years of age, 
but little is said of him prior to that time except to 
narrate the circumstances of his birth. The Bible is 
not "an old curiosity shop" to gratify the whims, idle 
fancies and vain curiosities of the world. It narrates 
just what is necessary for us to know to make us wise 
unto salvation. The sooner we recognize this fact, the 
better it is for us. Once recognizing it, we will no 
longer puzzle our brains over "untaught questions" and 
we will save ourselves the trouble of trying to be wise 
"above that which is written." If men should spend 
half as much time over the question, "What shall I do 
to be saved?" as they do over speculations and vain 
philosophies, it would not be long until the world would 
be brought to the feet of Jesus. It too often happens 
that men are practical in all things but religion. Here 
they are upon an open sea without chart, compass or 
pilot, idly drifting they know not where, and all be- 
cause they are not willing to take God at his word. 

In the few passages that deal with the childhood 



AT THE FEET OP JESUS. 57 

of Jesus we see the same perfection that was so mani- 
fest in the later years of his ministry. 

He "grew." This teaches his humanity, his kinship 
to our kind. And this humanity of Jesus must never 
be overlooked or underestimated if we would have right 
conceptions of his nature. He is not ashamed to call 
us brethren, because in flesh and blood he is related to 
us. Without this relation he never could have been 
"touched with a feeling of our infirmities/' and he could 
not have manifested his sympathy for the world of man- 
kind. Being made perfect through suffering, he was 
fitted to become our Saviour; but to suffer like we suf- 
fer, he must of necessity be as human as we are. He 
grew in stature. The Bible nowhere underestimates the 
importance of physical development. We are often ex- 
horted to care for the body, for it is the temple of 
the Holy Spirit. A strong, healthy, well-developed body 
is necessary to the largest success in life. 

Jesus "waxed strong in spirit." This is far more 
important than physical growth. His youthful days were 
not given up to giggling, tittering and driveling non- 
sense. It is said that nature abhors a vacuum. Well, 
she has much to abhor in the empty hearts of many 
young people nowadays. How many boys and young 
men are careful to cultivate such habits of thought and 
life as to cause them, like Jesus, to grow strong in 
spirit? Oh, the indifference of the average American 
youth to all things that tend to the development of 
their spiritual natures, is enough to make the angels 
weep, if there were tears in heaven! 

"He was filled with wisdom." He not only grew in 
knowledge, but he rightly applied his knowledge. Wis- 
dom is knowledge applied. All our acquisitions of knowl- 
edge will rise up in the judgment, and condemn us un- 



58 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

less we apply our hearts unto wisdom. They that are 
wise shall shine as the firmament. 

"And the favor of God was upon him." Here the 
sacred historian reaches the climax of graces as seen in 
the child-life of Jesus. No grander eulogy can be spoken 
of a youth than that he so lives as to enjoy the favor 
of God. The child Jesus should be every child's model. 
Now, I want to appeal to the children. Do you sup- 
pose, if Jesus were here as a child now, that he would 
spend his time in idleness? No. Then, why should 
you do so? Do you suppose he would swear and take 
the name of God in vain? If not, then is it right for 
you to swear? If Jesus were here, would he indulge 
in cigarettes, cigars and chewing-gum? Would he dis- 
obey his parents, rebel against his teachers, spend his 
evenings loafing on the streets, misbehave in church or 
refuse to read the word of God? Now, if you say "No" 
to all these questions, then you are under obligation to 
avoid these evils yourselves. 

"Oh, take the pattern He has given, 

And love your enemies; 
And learn the only way to heaven, 
Through self-denial lies." 



IV. 

Jesus was born in a manger because there was no 
room for Joseph and Mary in the hotel. The innkeeper 
might have pleaded several excuses for turning them 
away. His house might really have been already too 
full of guests to admit any more persons to its hospi- 
tality; or he might have thought these humble peasants 
too "common" for admission to his entertainment; or 



AT THE FEET OF JESUS. 59 

he might have thought they applied to him under very 
suspicious circumstances. Whatever was the real cause, 
they were turned away, and sought refuge in the stable 
or barn, among "the beasts of the stall." Not know- 
ing the motives that led to their rejection, we can not 
entertain any harsh feelings of blame or censure. The 
hotel-keeper may have been justified. 

But Jesus is rejected of men to-day. The Jews de- 
spised and rejected him because they knew not his true 
nature. When Jesus was dying he prayed for his per- 
secutors, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what 
they do." He excused them, at least in part, for their 
ignorance. Even Peter can not be censured too harshly 
for denying Jesus with a curse upon his lips. He and 
the other apostles had not yet risen to a right concep- 
tion of Jesus and the kingdom he came to establish. 

But what of those who reject Jesus to-day? Are 
they excusable? Can they refuse him room in their 
hearts and lives, and be justified? 

"If Jesus were here, and asked at your door 
A place to rest in and food from your store, 
As once he thus wandered in poverty's stamp, 
Would you turn him away as only a tramp?" 

You might turn him away under such circumstances 
and feel somewhat justified. But he does not come to 
you in such disguise now. He comes as a King and 
not as a Judean peasant. He wants to find room in 
our hearts, not that we may confer favors upon him, 
but that he may fill our hearts with blessing. 

When one of the early kings of England was tem- 
porarily dethroned, repeated attempts were made upon 
his life, and finally, to insure his safety, he disguised 
himself and appeared at the door of a poor country- 



60 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

man as an humble peasant, seeking shelter and employ- 
ment. He was admitted, and for sometime he faith- 
fully served his benefactors and "worked for his board" ! 
When he regained his crown, he settled quite a compe- 
tency upon his humble benefactors. They had enter- 
tained a prince unawares. 

Jesus, however, has laid aside his disguise and ap- 
pears to us in his real character. He is the King of 
kings and the Lord of lords. He is the fairest among 
ten thousand and the one altogether lovely. He is far 
above all principalities and powers and might and do- 
minion, and every name that is named. He comes in 
royal array and clothed in the garments of righteous- 
ness, and he says in gracious words : "Behold ! I stand 
at the door and knock. If any man open unto me, I 
will come in to him and abide with him." 

Oh, the blessedness of his words, "If any man." 
There is no partiality. He is no respecter of persons. 
He knocks at the door of every heart, rich and poor, 
high and low, learned or illiterate. He wants to abide 
with us all. 

Let us make room for Jesus. Let us give him the 
chief place in our homes and order all our domestic 
affairs according to his teaching. Let him cement the 
bond between husband and wife, parents and children, 
brothers and sisters. Give him room in our thoughts. 
Let him occupy much of our meditations. 

Make room for him in conversation. Talk to him 
often, freely, frankly and lovingly. Ask him for re- 
proof, forgiveness and wisdom. Give him the most sa- 
cred place in the affections. Love him more than father 
or mother, sister or brother, friend or lover. 

Make room for him in all pleasure-seeking. Any 
amusement from which he is banished is poison to the 



AT THE FEET OF JESUS. 61 

soul. This will cut off drinking, gambling, racing, 
theater-going, card-playing "and such like." 

Give him room in all the business affairs of life. 
This will make you honest in all your dealings with 
your fellow-men, and it will proscribe all illegitimate 
means of money-getting, such as the liquor traffic, deal- 
ing in futures and margins, checker-board, real-estate 
transactions, betting on elections. In short, if we make 
room for Jesus, he will suffer us to make a living only 
by honest toil, and he will make us pay one hundred 
cents for every dollar we owe. 

"No room for Jesus." What awful words are these! 
How we pity a Christless life; for if we have no room 
for Jesus here, he will have no room for us in the great 
hereafter. Banishment from the presence of God and 
from the glory of his power will be the certain doom 
of those who banish him from their lives. 

"Thou earnest, O Lord, with thy living Word, 

That should set thy people free; 
But with mocking and scorn, and with crown of thorn, 

Did they bear thee to Calvary. 
Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus! 

There is room in my heart for thee." 

V. 

"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt 
call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from 
their sins." These are the simple words of the angel 
when he announced to Joseph the coming of the per- 
fect One, and yet what a momentous announcement to 
the whole world! The "Desire of all nations" is about 
to be introduced to humanity, but from what an un- 
expected quarter does he come ! Who was Joseph ? A 



62 SEBMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

descendant of David, and that is about all we know of 
him, save that he was a humble Judean peasant and 
a carpenter by trade. Had the question of Messiah's 
progenitors been left to a vote of the people, I fear 
Joseph would have been entirely overlooked in the race. 
God's ways are not our ways. 

"God moves in a mysterious way, 
His wonders to perform." 

After all, however, it is not very mysterious that 
God chose humble parentage and lowly surroundings for 
"the Son of man." His mission was to save humanity 
and lift the whole world of mankind up to a higher 
and better life. He was to be the Regenerator of the 
race, and to be this he must needs touch the great heart 
of humanity. But how can he reach the masses unless 
he is of the masses? All real and true reformation of 
society must begin with the common people and work 
upward. To do otherwise would be as futile and foolish 
as to try to build a pyramid from the apex downward. 
We can not escape the corruptions in our National' Gov- 
ernment until we reform the citizens who go to the pri- 
maries and the polls. 

Jesus was a man of the people, and this was a great 
disappointment to the greater part of those who were 
expecting his advent. They thought he would be born 
in a king's house, and not among the beasts of the stall. 
They thought he would come in regal splendor, and not 
make himself of no reputation. 

To the vainglorious and the worldly ambitious, Jesus 
has ever been disappointing and unsatisfying. To the 
sensual and avaricious there is no beauty in him that 
they should desire him. "The gay belles of fashion" 



AT THE FEET OF JESUS. 63 

and the fastidious men of the world would not accept 
him as their ideal. Xo more popular is he with the self- 
righteous and the formalist. These all would crucify 
him and reject him. They did so w T hen he was here and 
have ever thus treated him. 

But the common people heard him gladly. He came 
as their Saviour. He could sympathize with them fully. 
Were they poor? He became poor that they by his poverty 
might become rich. Were they homeless? He had not 
where to lay his head. Were they despised ? He was de- 
spised and rejected by men. Were they obscure ? He made 
himself of no reputation. Were they laborers? He as- 
sisted Joseph at the carpenter's trade. Were they unable 
to pay their taxes? He helped them out in their difficulty. 
Did they weep over the graves of their friends ? He wept 
with them. Did they suffer from the ills of life? He was 
touched with a feeling of their infirmities. Were they 
wretched and debauched by sin ? He forgave them. Were 
they tempted? He was tempted in all points like they 
were, but without sin. Did they pass through the valleys 
of gloom and sorrow? He had his Gethsemane and the 
cross. Were they crushed to the very earth beneath the 
load of care? He said, "Come unto me, . . . and I will 
give you rest." All this he is to-day; for he is the same 
yesterday, to-day and forever. Blessed be his holy name. 

Yes, his name is called Jesus, and the very name means 
Saviour. His name stands for all that is noble, lovable, 
good and true. "He is placed far above all principalities 
and power and might and dominion, and every name that 
is named ;" but whatever other names he may possess, Jesus 
is the sweetest and the best. It comprehends all others. 
What a blessed thing to be baptized into such a name ! 



64 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

"Sweetest note in seraph song, 
Sweetest Name on mortal tongue, 
Sweetest carol ever sung, 
Jesus, blessed Jesus. 

"No other name dispels my guilt and fear, 
No other name but Jesus; 
Oh, how my soul delights to hear 
The precious name of Jesus." 



THINGS WE KNOW NOT. 

Much of the worry in this world is over things we are 
not permitted to know. 

Moses said: "Secret things belong unto God; but the 
revealed things are for us and our children." 

Paul warns Timothy against untaught questions. He 
exhorts him against foolish and unlearned questions. 

Jesus held many things from the people because they 
were not prepared to hear them. 

God breaks truth to us as we need it, and as we can 
appreciate it. 

Men worry over the intermediate state. Why should it 
concern us ? What matters it to us what may be the state 
of the dead between death and the judgment ? We are far 
more deeply concerned about the immediate state. What 
we should be in this world is of far more consequence. Do 
right now, and the future will care for itself. 

Almost from the birth of the church, the end of the 
world and the coming of Christ have been matters of dis- 
cussion. I do not know of anything more fruitless. It is 
enough to know that God has predicted these events. He 
has not seen fit to reveal the time. Even the Son of man 
did not know the day nor the hour. We should live in a 



THINGS WE KNOW NOT. 65 

state of constant preparation. Thus we will be ready, no 
matter when the events transpire. 

Why do little children die? We may not know. I 
shall not reply against God, nor blame him with their 
death. There are a thousand accidents that might con- 
spire to produce death. Among these there may be ig- 
norance of the parents, ignorance of physicians, infractions 
of the laws of nature, and such like. Let us look at these 
questions more from the heavenly side. Heaven is made up 
of such choice spirits. Let us think of our darlings as at 
home in the bosom of God. They have reached the place 
of everlasting peace and safety before us. Our tired feet 
have yet to climb the stony, thorny, mountainous path of 
this world. Theirs are at rest. 

What will be the nature of our heavenly existence? 
Here, again, God has not seen fit to reveal himself. Jesus 
has gone to prepare a place for his people. What more do 
we need to know? The beloved John says, "It doth not 
yet appear what we shall be/' Then I can wait. 

"I know not the form of my mansion fair; 
I know not the crown that I then shall wear; 
But I know that my Saviour will welcome me there, 
And that will be heaven for me. 

"I know not the hour when my Lord will come 
To take me away to my own dear home, 
But I know that his presence will lighten the gloom, 
And that will be glory for me." 

When there are ten thousand things about us and with- 
in us that are absolute mysteries — things that we can not 
hope to comprehend — why should we wonder and object, 
and rebel against the mysteries of the Bible? When we 
may be able to comprehend life, the soul, the working of 
the mind, the movements of the hand, the beatings of the 



66 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

heart, attraction, gravitation, magnetism, psychic phe- 
nomena and electricity, then we may be able to compre- 
hend all of God's thoughts, as he has recorded them upon 
the pages of divine revelation. 

We can not know the mysteries of suffering, losses, 
crosses, temptations and bereavements; but we can afford 
to wait. Your child asks j r ou questions beyond its ken. 
You say to it, "Wait until you are older, and you may 
know/' We are all children in understanding. God says, 
"Wait, and you may know/' The veil is over our eyes now. 
It will one day be removed. We can afford to wait. God 
knows, and that is enough for me. 

"He knows. Oh, thought so full of bliss, 
That while on earth our joys we miss, 
We still can bear it, feeling this — 
God knows it all." 

Heaven will doubtless be all-glorious. No sin can 
enter there. God will wipe away all tears from our eyes. 

"O Lord, in this valley of woe 
Our spirits for heaven prepare, 
That shortly we also may know 
And feel what it is to be there." 



THE CONFESSION OF SIN. 

AS ILLUSTRATED BY THE PRODIGAL SOX. 

We have the promise that if we confess our sins God 
is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and cleanse us from 
all unrighteousness. But this promise is not absolute or 
unconditional. It is dependent upon conditions. There 
are certain elements necessary to every true confession of 
sin. Negatively stated, a confession of sin must not be in- 



THE CONFESSION OF SIN. 67 

spired by fear, it must not grow out of detection, it must 
not be made to the wrong person nor must it be without 
an effort afterward toward a reformation of life. 

The prodigal son was a very great sinner, but he re- 
ceived pardon full and free because his confession of sin 
possessed all the true elements of a true acknowledgment 
of his wrongs. 

1. His confession w T as voluntary. "He came to him- 
self." Sin is an abnormal condition. Every sin a man 
commits takes him away from his truer and better self. 
Innocency is our normal condition. When a man con- 
fesses his sins, and reforms, he comes back to himself. 
The prodigal son acted of his own free will in the matter. 
He could not fear the ones he had wronged, because they 
were far away. Nor did his confession grow out of detec- 
tion, or fear of detection. There is not much merit, if 
any, in a confession that grows out of fear of punishment 
or detection. It must be wholly voluntary. Would that 
it might be said of every man who has done wrong, "He 
came to himself." 

2. He went to the right person. He had sinned 
against his father, and to his father he went with his 
confession. The confession of sin should be made to the 
party against whom the sin was committed. If I sin 
against a man, I should go to him, and frankly confess 
that I wronged him, and if I sin against God, I should 
go to God with it. The young prodigal had deeply wronged 
his father, and he said, "I will arise and go to my father, 
and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven 
and in thy sight." His sin had been very ignoble, but his 
confession was truly noble. Many persons fail of forgive- 
ness because they confess to the wrong persons. This is 
the abomination of auricular confession among Eoman 
Catholics. God has never authorized a priest as a "father 



68 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

confessor," and there is no promise of forgiveness to the 
poor dupes who go to the priests and divulge their sinful 
thoughts, words and actions. Judas Iscariot went to the 
priests with his confession of sin, but it was like a thief 
confessing to a thief, and there was no merit in it. 

3. The prodigal son followed his confession of sin 
with a reformation of life. He turned about and retraced 
his steps. In a spirit of deep humility he went back to 
his father's house, and gave every evidence that he was 
a sadder and a wiser man. 

4. The prodigal son confessed the very sin he com- 
mitted. He made a clean breast of it all. There was no 
"beating about the bush." He said frankly, "I have 
sinned." This is the language of every true confession. 
He did not blame God with his crookedness. He did not 
blame certain bumps upon his cranium for it. He did not 
say that he was afflicted with a moral disease that he could 
not control. He did not attribute it to heredity. He 
acknowledged his own personal guilt. That was manly and 
noble. 

Is it any wonder that the father could not withhold his 
blessing? The forgiveness was as free and whole-hearted 
as was the son's confession. And God will forgive every 
soul who thus truly confesses his sins. 



FAITH WITH THE HEART. 

The importance of faith can hardly be overestimated. 
By faith we receive Christ (John 1:12); by it we are 
saved (Mark 16: 16) ; by it we are justified (Eom. 5: 1), 
and by it we receive eternal life (John 3: 16). No man 
can please God without it, no man can come to God with- 
out it, and "whatsoever is not of faith is sin." It is the 



FAITH WITH THE HEART. 69 

basis of every Christian life, and the factor to which must 
be added all graces. It may be called the cause, and the 
Christian character is the effect. 

But do all men possess faith? Much the greater part 
of the people in this country do have faith in Christ as 
divine. Perhaps if we could ask each individual this ques- 
tion, "Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God ?" 
nine out of ten, ninety-nine out of a hundred, would say, 
"Yes, I believe in Christ, and that the Bible is the Book 
of God." But are ninety-nine out of a hundred of the 
people of this country Christians? By no means. Only 
a very small portion, comparatively, have dedicated their 
lives to the Lord. 

What, then, is the trouble? Have they not the right 
kind of faith? Yes, their faith is right in hind. They 
accept the divinity of Christ, and that is the only kind 
of faith the Lord requires. He who believes on Christ 
has a faith that is sound or evangelical. The difficulty with 
those is not in the Jcind of faith, but in its degree or in- 
tensity. Men give the cold assent of the mind to the truth 
of the gospel, but it is not enough. God demands much 
more. Such a faith is as worthless as a dead body (Jas. 
2:26). Our faith must be so intense that it will enlist 
the heart, win the affections, engage all the powers of the 
soul and bring the life into conformity to the will of God. 
Faith must not be satisfied short of entire obedience. A 
father once said to his little girl, "Mary, what is faith?" 
"Why, papa, it is doing what God tells us to do and asking 
no questions." All the schools of theology can never im- 
prove upon that definition. It is to have such a loving 
trust and confidence in God that we will not question the 
wisdom of his requirements or think him capable of de- 
manding anything to our injury. When I tell my child 
to do anything, I have taught him to do that without stop- 



70 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

ping to argue the question with me. So we should loving- 
ly trust in the Lord without debating the propriety of 
doing so. 

"Lord, I would place my hand in thine, 
Nor ever murmur or repine; 
Content whatever lot I see, 
If 'tis thy hand that leadeth me." 

When the Ethiopian eunuch said to Philip the evan- 
gelist, "See, here is water, what doth hinder me to be 
baptized?" Philip answered, "If thou believest with all 
thy heart, thou mayest." Philip demanded a heart faith. 

Paul also teaches that the word of the Lord must not 
only be in the mouth, but in the heart as well. "If thou 
wilt confess with the mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe 
in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou 
shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto 
righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto 
salvation/' 

I have italicized the words to which I call especial at- 
tention. Thus, in three consecutive verses in the tenth 
chapter of Eomans, Paul teaches the necessity of heart 
faith. Oh that we would heed the lesson ! If faith does 
not purify or change the heart, it is not the faith of God. 
Any religion that does not reach the hearts of men is not 
the religion of Christ. All true reformation proceeds from 
the inward to the outward. A pure intellectual faith, con- 
trasted with heart faith, may be compared to cold water 
and hot water in the boiler of a steam-engine. The cold 
water will not move a valve or wheel. The hot water will 
send it bounding over hill and dale, carrying its vast 
burden of freight. It is faith in the heart that conquers 
the world. Let no man boast of his faith, so long as he 
quibbles at any of God's commands. A heart faith will 



DON. 71 

never speak of the least of his requirements as non-essential. 
Heart faith leads a man to ask, "Lord, what wilt thou have 
me to do?" and the moment he learns the answer to the 
question, he will go forward and do that. Heart faith is 
the one thing lacking in the present age, and the lack of 
heart power in the pulpit is the fruitful cause of this de- 
ficiency. 

DON. 

If any of my little friends think I am writing about a 
Spaniard, they are much mistaken. I do not like to think 
about the Spaniards, much less do I want to write about 
them. They have been a very haughty people, and no less 
naughty. 

Don is the name of a dog. It is all right to name a dog 
after a Spaniard, in a general way. They have such dogged 
dispositions. But I am really sorry that this particular 
dog is burdened with a Spanish cognomen. He is so su- 
perior to the average Spaniard. Don's color is black, but 
the Spaniard is black in heart. They are warlike, but Don 
is very peaceable. He avoids a fight whenever it is possible 
to do so. They jump upon weaker powers and oppress 
them, but Don treats smaller dogs with great kindness. 
They are treacherous, but Don is ever honest and con- 
fiding. When Spaniards get whipped they demand indem- 
nity. When Don has to be corrected (which seldom hap- 
pens) he licks the hand that smites him. 

Don is not my dog. He belongs to a neighbor across 
the street, but he has taken such a liking to me that he 
seems determined to stay with no one else. 

It is peculiar how Don and I became acquainted. I 
sat one Sunday afternoon upon my front porch engaged 
in playing "Home, Sweet Home" upon my French harp. 



72 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

Don was attracted by the music. He came bounding upon 
the porch, leaped upon me, and barked and whined and 
howled vociferously. In many more ways than I can de- 
scribe did he express his appreciation of my music, and 
many an encore did he give me. I have sung and played 
for many audiences, but I never had a heartier reception 
than I received that afternoon from Don. It was as good 
as a circus to see the antics of that dog. Neighbors were 
attracted by his demonstrations, and in a few moments 
quite an audience was gathered about us. That was one 
year ago, but the same performance can be had whenever 
I play the harp. 

From that moment his attachment for me began, and 
although he has passed through many vicissitudes since, 
as we shall see before we are done with this story, nothing 
has been able to estrange him from me. 

He is a beautiful dog. He has very black, curly hair, 
with a tuft of white on his breast and on two of his feet. 
His eyes are remarkable, and almost like human eyes in 
their expressiveness. There is a kindly light in them that 
is almost bewitching. 

There is one notable exception to Don's kindly disposi- 
tion. He has an unreasonable prejudice against colored 
people. The second door from me lives "Aunt Sallie," a 
good old negro, who is noted for her kindness and sym- 
pathy. She is especially obnoxious to Don, and, in spite of 
all our watchfulness, he has bitten her once or twice. This 
is one bad streak in his nature. There are some human 
beings who indulge the same senseless prejudice against 
"niggers." There are some dogs that walk on two legs! 
Paul refers to them when he says, "Beware of dogs." He 
meant human dogs. 

Don watches closely the expression on my face. If I 
smile, he pricks up his ears, wags his tail, and indulges in 



DON. 73 



other canine expressions of his pleasure. If I frown, he 
has the most woe-begone expression in his eyes, droops his 
eyelids, throws his ears back, tucks his tail between his 
legs, and slinks away! 

Hundreds of students pass my door. They all know 
Don and he is a general favorite with them. 

When Don is fed he will prance about on his hind legs 
and take the food from my hand. I always butter his 
bread for him. He likes bread that is buttered. So do I ! 

With all of Don's good qualities, I did not want to 
keep him. Ever since I left the farm, twenty-five years 
ago, I have observed the apostle's injunction to beware of 
dogs, whether quadrupeds or bipeds. I therefore deter- 
mined to rid myself of Don. I gave him to a countryman 
who lived some miles in the country. In a little time he 
was back again. Again I gave him away, but the result 
was the same. 

At last I thought the opportunity had come to get rid 
of Don Alphonso Macadeiro. I was called to a neighboring 
town to celebrate a wedding. Don boarded the train with 
me. It was fun for me when the conductor tried to find 
an owner for that Spaniard. One by one he asked the pas- 
sengers, but they all denied the ownership. He asked me, 
and I also denied it. I am sure he thought I was lying, 
for the dog had a way of nestling at my feet all the while. 
I told the truth about it. He was not my dog, but my 
neighbor's. When I took the train that afternoon for home 
Don was left behind. I never expected to see him again. 
That was the fifteenth day of February. On the fifteenth 
day of April — just two months later — he came home ! He 
was so thin and emaciated that we could easily count his 
ribs. I have seldom witnessed such demonstrations of joy 
as he evinced when he came Tiome. It so touched all of 
our hearts that we resolved that never again would we try 



74 SEtfMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

to get rid of him. He has been happy and contented ever 
since, except when I am away. 

At this writing I am five hundred miles from home. 
When I started he boarded the train with me, but I put 
him off. The last I saw of him he was making a desperate 
effort to keep up with the cars. When I reach home I am 
sure of a cordial welcome, not only from my family, but 
from Don as well. 

If in this wide universe there should be a little corner 
set apart for a dog heaven, whither the souls of dogs shall 
go after death, I am sure that one of the upper seats in the 
everlasting dog kennel will be reserved for Don Alphonso 
Macadeiro. 



THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD. 

David was a shepherd in his youth, and he turned his 
early experience to good account in after years. Many 
of the sweetest Psalms that fell from his lips were doubtless 
born of these experiences. 

When, in the twenty-third Psalm, he exclaimed, "The 
Lord is my shepherd," he knew the full import of his 
words. His knowledge of the peculiar work of the shepherd 
gave him an exalted conception of God and his work. 

It was the work of the shepherd to lead his flocks and 
the flocks were always willing to be led by him. Knowing 
this, he exclaims, "He leadeth me beside the still waters/' 

What a pleasure to know that God leads us ! What a 
blessing to be willing to be led by the Lord ! It is the very 
joy of living — the essence of happiness. None can be led 
aright save those who are led by the Lord. We should teach 
our boys and girls this lesson very early in life. Teach 
them that God will lead them away from sin. He will lead 



THE LOED IS MY SHEPHERD. 75 

them out of the darkness into the light ; out of all that is 
degrading into all that is ennobling. 

Young man, be led of God. He will direct your feet 
into the pathway of truth and righteousness and peace. He 
will lead you away from the broad road that leads to death 
and into the narrow way that leads to life eternal. 

Amid all life's changing experiences we should ever say, 
Father, take my hand. Lead me wherever thou deemest 
best. I can not see my way; I am willing to trust thee. 

Sometimes the way seems dark. Sometimes the clouds 
overhang my pathway; but faith can pierce the darkness, 
and, although it may be hidden, still we may feel that 
God's loving hand is in it all. 

"God moves in a mysterious way, 
His wonders to perform; 
He plants his footsteps on the sea, 
And rides upon the storm. 

"Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, 
But trust him for his grace; 
Behind a frowning providence 
He hides a smiling face." 

A shepherd's work is to feed his flock and keep it 
from want. God, as our Shepherd, is able to give us the 
spiritual food that will keep our souls from languishing. 
If any of us are starving for food, it is our own fault. God 
has provided a bountiful feast for our souls. All things 
are ready and he bids us come and partake. What is the 
food? Jesus answers, "Man shall not live by bread alone; 
but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." 
God's word is the food upon which our souls must subsist. 
Peter exhorts us to "desire the sincere milk of the word, 
that we may grow thereby," and David blesses the man 
whose delight "is in the law of the Lord, and in his law 



76 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

doth lie meditate day and night." He compares such a 
one to the stately tree that grows beside the river. 

Those persons in the church whose souls are pinched 
and starved may find the cause in their neglect of Bible 
study. The soul can not live on the husks of philosophy, 
science and romance. 

The shepherd protects his flock from danger. God pro- 
tects those who trust in him, and, out of all seeming woe 
and calamity, will bring us at last safely into the upper 
fold where we shall enjoy the green fields and the living 
waters of the evergreen mountains of life. 

"The Lord my pasture shall prepare, 
And feed me with a shepherd's care; 
His presence shall my wants supply, 
And guard me with a watchful eye; 
My noonday walks he shall attend, 
And all my midnight hours defend. 

"When in the sultry glebe I faint, 
Or on the thirsty mountain pant, 
To fertile vales and dewy meads 
My weary, wandering steps he leads, 
Where peaceful rivers, soft and slow, 
Amid the verdant landscapes flow." 

It is this faith in God's leadership that renders bearable 
the ills of life, that banishes fear amid all dangers, that 
comforts in sorrow and that largely robs death of its ter- 
rors. It is this that paints the rainbow of peace about the 
grave, and that causes the heart even here to catch glimpses 
of the glory world. 



THK LAW OF CITIZENSHIP. 



THE LAW OF CITIZENSHIP. 

When foreigners come to our shores there is a law of 
naturalization by which they become citizens of this country 
and another law by which they maintain their citizenship. 

So in the kingdom of Christ there is one law by which 
the alien becomes a Christian, and still another by which 
he remains a faithful subject to heaven's King. 

A citizen of our country, by high crimes and misde- 
meanors may forfeit his rights; so it is possible for us to 
lose our citizenship in Christ's kingdom. 

What, then, is the law governing our citizenship ? 

1. Steadfast continuance in the apostle's doctrine. 
Doctrine is the principle. Correct doctrine is right 

principle. There can not be right principle where we enter- 
tain false doctrine, nor can there be right living without 
correct principles. 

In order that our lives be right, the heart must be right. 
That the heart may be right it must harbor only right prin- 
ciples, and these can only be the outgrowth of sound doc- 
trine. 

I have no sympathy with the saying which is as com- 
mon as legal tender, that "it matters not what a man be- 
lieves if his heart is right." How can the heart be right 
as long as it is filled with error ? It is the faith that puri- 
fies the heart. Paul exhorted Timothy to preach the Word, 
and Jude exhorts us to earnestly contend for the faith 
once delivered to the saints (2 Tim. 4: 1-4; Jude 3). 

2. By continuing steadfastly in the fellowship. 

It is not enough that a man be sound in doctrine. That 
doctrine must become an active, working, ruling principle 
in his life. Many persons know the truth, but do it not. 
The greater does their condemnation become. ( Jas. 4:17.) 



78 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

Many can talk religion and dispute on religious questions, 
and they seem to think this is the chief end of life. They 
can lounge on store counters, loaf on street corners, gather 
in blacksmith shops and discuss religion; but at the same 
time they will take advantage in a trade, vote for license, 
and neglect many of the requirements of God. Such re- 
ligion will avail nothing. (See Jas. 1 : 26.) We must keep 
in the fellowship. 

Fellowship means partnership. The Christian is in 
partnership with the apostles, with God and with his Son 
Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3.) He becomes a member of 
God's firm for carrying on the Lord's business. 

He must be an active member of this firm. There are 
no silent partners, and no deadbeats. Too many persons 
try to play this part, but they greatly deceive themselves. 

If we are in this partnership, then we must bear our 
proportionate part of the financial burdens of the church. 
It is a shame and disgrace for any man to belong to any 
kind of society and enjoy its benefits and yet refuse to help 
support it financially, unless he is an object of charity. 
We once heard of a man who had belonged to the church 
twenty-five years. Some one asked him how he enjoyed 
his church relation. "Oh, very well indeed; it has not cost 
me twenty-five cents/' The other said, "The Lord have 
mercy on your soul," and I believe all Christians would 
say, "Amen and amen." With Moses Lard we would say, 
if such persons are ever saved they will surely sing : 

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound 
That saved a wretch like me." 

The church can oiot exist and carry out its various lines 
of work without incurring financial burdens. Were I not 
willing to bear my proportionate part of these, I would 
surely say to the officers, I am not fit to remain with you. 



TO YOUNG BRETHREN OF FAITH AND ZEAL. 79 



Withdraw from me and let me have my part with the 
covetous who are idolaters. 

We must all keep in the partnership of sympathy, sor- 
row, care, trial and affliction. Oh this partnership of suf- 
fering ! How it makes the soul Christlike ! Blessed fellow- 
ship ! Shall we withhold it from our brethren in Christ ? 
As all the parts of the human body are in sympathy, and 
one part can not suffer without all suffering with it, so 
God would have us be united in Christ. How often is it, 
however, that a few are burdened and the many are eased. 

3. We must steadfastly observe the breaking of bread. 
The world celebrates its heroes with costly monuments 

of stone or bronze. There is something very pathetic in the 
thought that Jesus ordained his own monument, and in the 
simple loaf and wine he would represent his body and his 
blood. He said, "Do this in memory of me." Shall we 
lightly esteem it and willfully neglect it ? We can not thus 
treat it and be true to Him who bought us. We should 
observe this institution every Lord's Day, and thus mani- 
fest his death until He comes. 

4. Lastly, we should continue to pray. Here the soul 
receives its spiritual pabulum, and a Christian can not live 
without prayer. 

By observing these four things the church at Jerusalem 
remained faithful. 



TO YOUNG BRETHREN OF FAITH AND 

ZEAL. 

When Jesus was among men he said the harvest was 
great, but the laborers were few. As we look over the field 
to-day we are driven to the same conclusion. Everywhere 
the people manifest a willingness to learn the truth when 



80 SEBMOUS, ESSAYS AKD OUTLINES. 

it is faithfully presented. Infidelity is reacting against it- 
self. Some years ago Ingersoll was quoted by the enemies 
of the Bible, and he furnished the topic of conversation on 
the car, in the workshop and on the street corner ; but now 
his name is almost forgotten. 

Sectarianism has lost its hold upon the people and they 
have become disgusted with humanisms, and everywhere 
the people are reaching out for the divine. Now what we 
want is men of faith and zeal — men devout and earnest — 
men full of self-sacrificing devotion — men whose hearts 
will not fail and whose faith will not falter — these are the 
men needed just now r % go up and possess the land/' 

My heart is grieved when I think of the few young men, 
comparatively, who are preparing to preach the gospel. 
The medical schools are graduating fifties where our Bible 
schools graduate one. Are men's bodies of such transcend- 
ent importance that they must be doctored, and their souls 
of so little account that they need not a physician ? Young 
man, what question agitates your mind as you are about to 
enter upon active life ? Do you ask yourself what line of 
conduct you ought to pursue in order to accomplish the 
greatest good for our common humanity ? or do you inquire 
what will best further the interests of your own selfish ends 
and bring the most mone} r into your coffers? Are you 
solicitous as to what you can accomplish for the purifica- 
tion and salvation of the race of mankind ? or is your whole 
attention given to the means by which you can gratify your 
appetites and passions? 

What is your conception of human life and duty? Is 
it to pamper the body to the neglect of the soul ? Shame ! 
Shame ! Shakspeare has said : 

"What is man, 
If his chief estate be to eat and sleep? 
A beast, no more." 



TO YOUNG BRETHREN OF FAITH AND ZEAL. 81 

And is this not true? How much does your life rise 
above the level of the brute, if its purpose is only to gratify 
self? 

God teaches that the great end of our existence is to 
glorify him in our bodies and our spirits, which are his. 
Every young brother ought to ask himself this question, 
"How can I most successfully accomplish the glory of God's 
name ?" He should pray over this matter ; he should weep 
over it. If he makes a mistake here, his life will be a 
wreck, and of all wrecks this is the saddest. A human 
wreck is a fit object for angels' tears. 

"For of all sad words of tongue or pen, 
The saddest are these : 'It might have been.' " 

How many will realize their sadness when they come to 
give an account of their earth-life ! Then they will feel 
that they might have gathered many golden sheaves from 
the Lord's harvest, and saved many souls from perdition, 
had they devoted their talents to the preaching of the un- 
searchable riches of Christ. 

Must mammon rule the world? Must we hesitate be- 
tween the preaching of the gospel and the practice of the 
law or medicine? 

I have known many young men in college to remark: 
"I know not whether to preach or practice law." To such 
I would sa}% practice law by all means. You are not fit to 
preach as long as you halt between these. In the name of 
all that is good, don't bring preaching down to a mere pro- 
fession. Think of the value of a human soul. Think of 
a world tying in wickedness. Think of what the scheme 
of redemption has cost — the blood of the prophets — the 
death of Jesus — the sacrifices of primitive Christians, and 
the efforts of the pure and good of all the ages to save hu- 



82 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

inanity — think of all this, and then, if you have the heart 
and faith, and feel an overpowering sense of your obligation 
to preach the gospel, you are a proper subject for the min- 
istry of the Word. 

We have many pure-hearted, talentecl and devoted 
young men in the church. Can we not induce you to pre- 
pare for this work? Eich, golden opportunities are upon 
you. Opportunities to prepare yourselves for the work, 
and abundant room to work after you are prepared. The 
professions are all overcrowded, but never was there such 
demand for preachers of the pure word of God. 

Our Bible schools are ready to receive all who will enter 
them. All those who have taken the Bible course and 
have entered the ministry have had no difficulty to find 
work to do for the Master, and have been liberally remu- 
nerated for it. Don't entertain fears in regard to a support. 
Fit yourselves for the work, and then go out among the 
churches and by a godly life and pure teaching support 
them, and they will support you. God and the brethren 
will see that your wants are supplied. Finally, "He that 
converts a sinner from the error of his way, saves a soul 
from death, and hides a multitude of sins." 



TO NEW CONVERTS. 

I. 

You have entered upon a new relation. A new field 
opens up before you. Your experiences are new; your 
thoughts are new; your words are new; your joys are new; 
your aspirations are new; your hopes are new; your asso- 
ciations are new, "Old things have passed away; behold, 
all things have become new." "If any man be in Christ, 
he is a new creation." "We are buried with him by baptism 



TO NEW CONVERTS. 83 

into death, that like as Christ arose from the dead by the 
glory of the Father, even so we should walk in newness 
of life/' 

Your experiences are new. You have now tasted and 
seen that the Lord is good. Basing your action in becom- 
ing a Christian upon God's word, you have experienced the 
sweetness of having your sins forgiven. And what a blessed 
experience that is ! We look back over our past lives. We 
see the exceeding sinfulness of our sins. We see the spots 
and blemishes that blunted and dwarfed all the better feel- 
ings of our nature. But when we come to Christ, his blood 
cleanses us from all these, and we stand in his presence 
"washed, sanctified, justified in the name of the Lord 
Jesus, and by the spirit of our God." We experience a love 
for God and for his Son which we never knew before. Our 
veneration for the Bible is increased a thousand-fold. It 
is said that a young lady once took up a book and read it 
with some degree of pleasure, but she carelessly threw it 
aside, and its contents were soon forgotten. In after years 
she became acquainted with its author. This acquaintance 
ripened into friendship, and the friendship into love, and 
the love led to a betrothal. Now she read the book with 
renewed delight. She saw new beauties and new truths 
which she had not seen before. Happy the soul newly be- 
trothed to Christ. Before conversion, perhaps, there was 
no beauty in Christ that we should admire him; now "he 
is the fairest among ten thousand, and the one altogether 
lovely." Before, the Bible was a bundle of fables ; now it 
contains the Bread of Life and directs our feet in the paths 
of peace. Before, we could see no appropriateness in 
prayer; now it is our vital breath and the sweet incense 
that ascends daily from the altar of our hearts. Once the 
songs of Zion were meaningless ; now we catch their sweet 
inspiration and they lift our affections Godward and heav- 



84 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

enward, day by day. Well may the new-born soul rejoice 
in these new experiences. The world may call them fool- 
ishness, but to the Christian man they are the manifesta- 
tions of the power and the wisdom of God. 



II. 



Your thoughts are new. Before your conversion you 
thought but little of God ; now God is in all your thoughts. 
One of the greatest results produced by the religion of 
Christ is this; it directs our thoughts into pure channels, 
and causes our meditations to be acceptable with our Lord 
and Eedeemer. Instead of being earthly and sensual, they 
are now heavenly and divine. In order that we may live 
Christians, it certainly is necessary that our thoughts be 
changed. No man can live a pure life whose thoughts are 
impure, for these constitute the mainspring of all action. 

Some young Christian is ready to ask: "How can I 
help entertaining evil thoughts? They will come into 
my mind." Now, this is a delusion which Satan has whis- 
pered in your ear. You can control your thoughts. It 
is the intention of religion to make us masters of self. 
As our thoughts are an important part of self, they must 
come into subjection. But how can this be done? I 
answer, "Whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things 
are true, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things 
are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things 
are of good report ; if any virtue, and if any praise, think 
on these things" (Phil. 4:8). 

Now I submit the question: If we can not control our 
thoughts, does not the apostle mock us when he exhorts 
us to "think on these things"? 

There is a principle in natural philosophy that two 
things can not occupy the same space at the same time. 



TO NEW CONVERTS. 85 

It is also true in mental philosophy that we can not think 
of two things at the same time. Hence, the way to avoid 
evil thoughts is to entertain good. "Blessed is the man 
. . . whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and in 
his law doth he meditate day and night" (Ps. 1). 

It is not only possible for us to control the thoughts, 
but the Bible speaks very plainly of its necessity. He 
that hath an ear to hear, let him hear. "Let the wicked 
forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, 
and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy 
upon him; and to our God, and he will abundantly par- 
don" (Isa. 55:7). 

Here mercy and pardon are predicated upon the con- 
dition that men turn away from wicked thoughts. God 
condemned the people before the flood, because every 
imagination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil 
continually (Gen. 6:5). Why condemn them if they 
could have no control of their thoughts? Is God unjust, 
that he should require of men that which they can not do ? 
Away with such a thought! Then we are forced to the 
conclusion that if he does condemn men for evil thoughts, 
it is because they have the power to control their thoughts, 
but will not do so. 

In 1 Kings 18 : 21, the question is asked, "How long 
halt ye between two opinions?" Why raise such a ques- 
tion, if man has not the power to choose? Solomon adds 
his testimony when he says, "The thoughts of the righteous 
are right" (Pro v. 12:5). 

We conclude this array of Scripture testimony with 
the language of the apostle Paul : "The weapons of our 
warfare are not carnal, but mighty, through God, to the 
pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations, 
and every high thing that exalteth itself against the 



86 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every 
thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:4,5). 

Of course the italics are mine. The religion of Christ 
is no one-sided affair. It is well rounded up. It de- 
signs the redemption of the whole man. It demands that 
our thoughts, motives, purposes, words and actions be 
brought into subjection to the will of God. 



III. 



We want in this essay to impress upon your minds 
the importance of making your words new, where before 
they were sinful. 

Words are the signs of ideas and the outgrowth of 
ideas. Now, if in becoming a Christian you have experi- 
enced a change in your ideas, your words will undergo 
a corresponding change. Because of Christianity your 
ideas have become purer and your conceptions more ex- 
alted; is it not reasonable, therefore, that we expect of 
you that you utter only words that are pure? Says Solo- 
mon, "The words of the pure are pleasant." How true 
is it of the pure-hearted Christian. I have been in the 
presence of many such, and I have always felt that I was 
a better man because of contact with such heavenly spirits. 
Their words were seasoned with the grace of God, and 
never grated harshly upon the ear. These never offend 
in word. Nothing ever escapes their lips that can wound 
or ruffle the feelings of the most cultured. "If any man 
offend not in word, the same is a perfect man" (Jas. 
3:2). This being true, we may well pray with the Psalm- 
ist, "Let the words of my mouth be acceptable in thy sight, 
Lord, my strength and my redeemer." Such perfection 
may, and should, be attained by every child of God. Our 
preachers should learn to preach the gospel in its sim- 



TO NEW CONTESTS. 87 

plicity and in its fullness; but it should be preached in 
love and tenderness, and thus instead of offending, and 
driving the people away, many souls will be won to Christ. 
Our elders should remember, also, that when they exhort, 
reprove and rebuke the erring, it should be done with all 
longsuffering. Too many persons pride themselves upon 
their plainness of speech, when their very bluntness is 
only an evidence of ill manners. Many persons have yet 
to learn that a man can be plain in speech and yet mani- 
fest a kind and loving disposition. How many heart- 
pangs could be prevented if all persons would smooth off 
the sharp corners and harsh angularities of speech. 

Dear vounsr Christian, I exhort you to be careful of 
your words, and if there are any old persons in the church 
whose manner is harsh and crusty, they will also appro- 
priate this exhortation to themselves. Words are a sure 
index of character. They form the samples by which we 
can judge the heart. If a commercial traveler desires to 
sell his wares, or a farmer his grain, he takes a sample to 
the buyer, and if he is honest, these samples furnish a 
sure index to the character of his whole stock. So our 
words indicate the condition of our hearts. 

"Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speak- 
eth." So witnesseth Jesus, the great Master in Israel. 
Whatever ideas and thoughts a man treasures away in 
his heart are sure to find expression in words. As I 
walked along the street this morning and overheard 3 7 oung 
gentlemen (?) "swearing like a sailor/' I knew at once 
that their hearts were filled with deadly poison. As I 
overheard their obscene remarks concerning ladies passing 
by, I knew their hearts were so corrupt that their moral 
filth had found expression in words. It is very important 
that we guard our words, and that we may most success- 
fully do this we must be careful what ideas we entertain. 



88 SEBMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

If love reigns in our hearts, our words won't be expressions 
of hate; if we have reverence for God, we won't swear; 
and if we are pure in heart, obscene words will never 
escape our lips. Here is a safe rule for the Christian: 
"Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name 
of the Lord Jesus" (Col. 3:17). He who observes this 
rule in word or action, will not go astray. And it is 
very important that we observe it, for the Saviour says, 
"Of every idle word men shall give account, for by thy 
words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt 
be condemned" (Matt. 12:36,37). When we remember 
that words are a sure index of character we must admit 
that this judgment is reasonable. 

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures 
of silver" (Pro v. 25:4). What sublime imagery! What 
is a word fitly spoken? It is the right word, spoken in 
the right time, and at the right place, and in the proper 
spirit. 

If brethren would remember that, they would never 
turn the prayer-meeting into a debating society, nor cause 
any disturbance in a public assembly. If a statement is 
made publicly to which I object, I will not make the 
correction there, but will take the erring one aside and 
teach him the ways of the Lord more perfectly and thus 
save the cause of Christ from reproach 

IV. 

Dear friends, we want to talk a little while about the 
joys that belong to the Christian. These are new and 
very different from those common to you before your con- 
version. One of the surest evidences that you have under- 
gone the change implied by conversion is that your joys 
are new. Of course this change is more noticeable in some 



TO NEW CONVERTS. 89 



than in others, because some were much greater sinners 
than others. 

The man who found his joy in visiting the drinking- 
saloon and indulging in the use of ardent spirits, finds 
nothing satisfying in these now. Instead of being drunk 
with wine, he is filled with the Spirit — not the spirit of 
King Alcohol, but the spirit of Christ, who is the King 
of kings and Lord of lords. There can be no fellowship 
between these two spirits. 

The brother who frequented the gaming-table and re- 
joiced in his ill-gotten gains, now finds his joy in the 
honorable pursuits of life, and in providing things hon- 
est in the sight of all men. He who once took such an 
interest in the race-track at agricultural (?) fairs, and 
elsewhere, now rejoices in running the Christian race that 
is set before him, looking unto Jesus, the author and 
finisher of his faith. 

Indeed, the Christian is traveling in a road entirely 
different from that traversed by the votaries of sin and 
folly. The joys, the experiences and the road over which 
he journeys are bounded by two outposts. Upon the one, 
or the right hand, is this inscription, "Shun every ap- 
pearance of evil." Upon the left is written, "Cleave to 
that which is good." 

Between these all good is found, and our joys must 
not overleap God's own appointed boundaries. Hence the 
apostle says that charity "rejoiceth not in iniquity, but 
rejoiceth in the truth." Charity is one of the chief ele- 
ments in the formation of Christian character. We have 
been speaking in a general wa}'. We want to designate a 
few things in which the Christian must rejoice. 

1. Rejoice in the salvation of the Lord. This was a 
common expression with the Psalmist, "I will rejoice in 
thy salvation." When the children of Israel were deliv- 



90 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

ered from Egyptian bondage they rejoiced upon the banks 
of deliverance. Jesus has made you free from the bond- 
age of sin and death — a bondage a thousand-fold worse 
than the Egyptian, because it fettered body, soul and 
spirit. Well may you sing the glad song of deliverance. 

2. Rejoice in the assembly of the saints. One, in olden 
times, said: "I was glad when they said to me, Let us 
go up to the house of the Lord." As long as that is your 
experience, you are safe. I never have any fears for the 
young Christian as long as he regularly attends the house 
of worship, but when he becomes careless and indifferent, 
I look for a corresponding laxity in all his Christian 
duties. 

3. Rejoice in the cross of Christ. The young Chris- 
tian will meet with some trials. Let not these discourage 
you. Count it all joy if you can suffer reproach for the 
name of Christ. If your former companions taunt you 
for being a Christian, rejoice. If they point the finger 
of scorn, rejoice. If they forsake you, rejoice. Did they 
not thus mock and forsake the Saviour? Are you better 
than he ? Is the servant greater than his lord ? You can 
well afford to lose a friend who will forsake you because 
you are a Christian. While such a person wears the garb 
of a friend, he is your worst enemy. What are all these 
sufferings and trials compared with the glory that awaits 
you? Says the great apostle who suffered so much for 
the name of Christ, "If we suffer with him, we shall be 
glorified together." And again, "God forbid that I should 
glory, save in the Lord Jesus Christ." The apostle Peter 
also says, "Rejoice inasmuch as you are partakers of 
Christ's sufferings." 

If we are willing to bear whatever crosses and what- 
ever losses come upon us for Christ's sake, we can not 
only rejoice in tribulation here, but in the home of the 



TO NEW CONVERTS. 91 

soul, beyond the river of death, we will rejoice with joy 
unspeakable and full of glory. In the rapture of the glori- 
fied we will forget the petty grievances of our earth-life. 
In the songs of the redeemed we will forget the groanings 
'neath life's burdens. In the joys of the infinite, we will 
feel that our sorrows were infinitesimal. 



"Be careful of the company you keep." This has more 
to do with your future career as a church-member than 
almost anything else, and perhaps far more than you have 
ever dreamed of. I would have the above motto written 
upon your hearts, inscribed upon your door-posts and 
placed as a frontlet between your eyes. That a man is 
like the company he keeps, is an old adage, but a very 
true one. It was said by Plautus : 

"There are many traps 
Laid to ensnare mankind, and whosoever 
Snaps at the bait, is caught by his own greediness; 
But he who acts with caution and with care 
May long enjoy what honestly he owns/' 

Let the new convert beware of the traps which his 
former wicked companions will lay for him ; and the most 
effectual way to do this is to avoid such companions. His 
conduct must be marked "with caution and with care" 
right here, or he is liable to stumble and fall at any 
time. No man, no matter how strong and self-possessed, 
can choose the companionship of wicked and ungodly per- 
sons and remain wholly free from their power and in- 
fluence. Too many of us are easily moved by our sur- 
roundings, and the only safe plan for such to keep from 
sinning, is to keep away from places and persons that 
would lead them into sin. 



92 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

We must be careful what company we keep. We must 
exercise some wisdom and discretion in our choice of 
friends. 

"For those who friends too lightly choose, 
Soon friends, and all besides, may lose." 

No one can rub against a chimney-sweeper without 
polluting his garments, and no one can come in constant 
contact with the sinful and debased, and yet keep his robss 
of righteousness undefiled. 

Your old companions in sin will come to you in the 
garb of friendship, and, with professions of innocency, 
will try to beguile you away from the meetings of the 
church, or, worse still, will try to lead you into places and 
practices of doubtful repute, if not of absolute sinfulness. 
Listen not to their professions of friendship, for he is your 
worst enemy who would decoy you from duty. 

"Know that not all are friends whose faces 
Are habited in courteous graces; 
But think that 'neath the sweetest smile 
Oft lurk self-interest, hate and guile." 

He only is a true friend who will lead us into a higher, 
truer and purer life. You will not find such a friend out- 
side the church. Why seek without the church? In be- 
coming a Christian did you not enter into copartnership 
with the children of God? Let the sentiment of the old 
hymn be the thought of your heart: 

"You may talk of the friendship of youth or of age, 
And select for your comrades the noble and sage, 
But the friends that most cheer me on life's rugged road 
Are the friends of my Master, the children of God." 



IS THE BIBLE REASONABLE? 93 

A man is always safe among those who are truly the 
friends of Jesus. It may cost the young Christian much 
self-denial to give up some of his old paths, and forsake 
some of his old companions; but if these paths and com- 
panions do not lead him Christward and heavenward, the 
sacrifice must not be esteemed too great. If we love any- 
thing more than Christ we are not worthy of him. We 
should rejoice that we can make sacrifices and suffer, for 
him after all that he has sacrificed and suffered for us. 

"Tho 5 rugged the pathway, and darkened the goal, 
With Hope for the future and conscience the past, 
Never fear, never doubt in the depth of the soul, 
That, spite of all fate, all will be well at the last." 



IS THE BIBLE REASONABLE? 

We believe the Bible is in accord with the highest 
reason, and that the God of the Bible demands of us 
not a blind, but an intelligent, faith. In his celebrated 
debate with Alexander Campbell, Eobert Owen made the 
sweeping assertion that all religion has grown out of ig- 
norance and credulity. He made no exceptions. The 
Christian religion met with the same condemnation. He 
announced what he was pleased to call "twelve funda- 
mental laws of nature," which were to subvert the Chris- 
tian religion and become the basis of universal society. 
Where now are Robert Owen and his twelve laws ? His laws 
are as dead as the clods that cover his dead body, but 
Christianity lives and nourishes like "a green bay tree." 
Voltaire pronounced the Bible an unreasonable book, and 
prophesied the decay of religion with the eighteenth cen- 
tury. Voltaire is dead enough, but religion survives him. 

A more modern apostle of unbelief made like predic- 



94 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

tions with Owen and Voltaire. He boasted that the Bible 
makes slaves of men and that only unbelievers are free- 
thinkers. He said a man could not believe the Bible 
save at the expense of his reason, and that he longed for 
the day when reason enthroned upon the world's brain 
would be the king of kings and god of gods. 

These were proud boasts; but were they true? What 
is the spirit of the Bible? Does God demand the sacri- 
fice of our reason in order to accept the volume of revela- 
tion? A book should be permitted to speak for itself. 
The Bible, like every other book, should be its own in- 
terpreter. It is my purpose in this connection to col- 
late a few passages bearing directly upon this thought. 

In the first chapter of Isaiah we have these words: 
"Come, let us reason together, saith the Lord." Here God 
challenges us to use our reason. 

When John the Baptist was in prison he became de- 
spondent, and doubts as to the true character of Jesus 
flitted across his mind. He sent two of his disciples to 
the Master with the question, "Art thou he that should 
come, or do we look for another?" Jesus did not send 
them back with a dogmatic answer, but he sent him a 
most reasonable, and therefore a most convincing, reply. 
"Go and tell John the things you do see and hear." And 
then he recounted all his works of love and mercy as so 
many proofs of his Messiahship. This is in perfect har- 
mony with his proposition to the Jews at another time: 
"If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not ; but 
if I do, if you believe not me, believe the works, that you 
mav know and believe that the Father is in me and I 
in the Father." There could not be a more reasonable 
proposition. 

The apostle Paul speaks in the highest praise of the 
people of Berea, and censures the Thessalonians, because 



IS THE BIBLE REASONABLE? 



the Bereans searched the Scriptures daily to see if these 
things are true, while the Thessalonians neglected to do so. 
In Paul's estimate, careful investigation was the badge 
of true nobility. This doesn't look like making slaves 
of men. 

When this grand old apostle of faith stood in the 
presence of Agrippa and made his masterly, logical de- 
fense of the resurrection, he personally appealed to the 
king, "Why should it be thought a thing incredible that 
God should raise the dead?" This word "incredible" is 
almost a synonym for "unreasonable." Thus Paul ap- 
pealed to Agrippa's reason. 

The apostle Peter also exhorts us to be ready always 
to give an answer to every man that asketh a reason for 
our hope, and he says in another place, "We have not fol- 
lowed cunningly devised fables, . . . but were eye-wit- 
nesses of his majesty." 

The beloved John says : "That which we have seen 
and heard declare we unto you." 

A book never made more reasonable demands than 
the Bible. The character of the witnesses is such as to 
confirm our faith. Their honesty and heroic fidelity to 
their convictions kindle our constant admiration. They 
have every reason to know whereof they affirmed, and if 
we reject their testimony we may reject all history by 
the same process of reasoning. 

The Bible comes to us confirmed by many infallible 
proofs. The resurrection of Christ is the greatest fact 
of the ages. It is greatest in the superabundance of tes- 
timony supporting it, and greatest in its benign influence 
upon the human family. As we stand in the presence of 
these, we are compelled, like Thomas, to exclaim, "My 
Lord and my God !" 

Of the alleged facts, the self-existent, all-creative God 



96 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

is the greatest, and the first sentence of the Bible calls 
attention to him and his work: "In the beginning God 
created the heavens and the earth." The world never 
greeted a sublimer declaration. But the atheist and the 
unbeliever claim that it is unreasonable to suppose a self- 
existent Creator, hence he affirms the eternity of matter. 
Which is the more reasonable, to affirm that matter is self- 
existent and eternal, or to affirm the eternity of mind? 
As far as affirmations and suppositions are concerned, 
surely the Christian has the advantage. It is much more 
reasonable to suppose that a Supreme Intelligence created 
man than to suppose that he has been evolved from a 
lower order of beings, such as the monkey, ape, etc. The 
lamented Burgess was wont to say, "It is better to sup- 
pose the monkey a degenerated man, than man to be a 
regenerated monkey." I do not claim that man, without 
the Bible, could ever come to a knowledge of God, but 
with its teaching before us, everything in nature confirms 
it, and the Bible idea of God is in accord with the highest 
reason. 

Paley's familiar illustration is reasonable. Who can 
look at a watch and examine its parts, all perfectly ad- 
justed to each other and all working together, accurately 
marking the passing seconds, minutes, hours and days, 
and yet say that this is a haphazard work, the result of 
evolution or of some fortuitous circumstances? The man 
who so decides is a fool, or insane, and should be taken 
forthwith to an asylum for the feeble-minded or to the 
hospital for the insane. And yet, how much more insane 
is he than the man who affirms the same of the material 
world? Atheism is no more reasonable than Topsy in 
"Uncle Tom's Cabin," who, when asked who made her, 
replied, "S'peet I growed." Atheism "s'pects" the world 
"growed." It is not as reasonable as heathenism, for the 



IS THE BIBLE SEASONABLE? 97 

heathen did try to account for the world. They supposed 
the gods made a big rock, and a big turtle to rest upon 
the rock, and the world to rest upon the back of the turtle ! 
"Absurd!" methinks you are ready to say. How much 
more absurd than the atheistical idea ? 

A believing and unbelieving scientist were fast friends. 
They had ^ had many warm discussions of the Bible idea 
of God. One day the Christian scientist found a very 
beautiful and complicated machine. He purchased it and 
placed it in his studio, and anxiously awaited a visit from 
his friend. He did not wait long. His friend no sooner 
entered the room than his eyes fell on the quaint machine. 
After carefully examining it, but failing to determine 
what it was and its design, he said to the Christian, 
"What is it?" "I do not know," replied the Christian. 
"Who made it ?" said the skeptic. "I suppose no one made 
it," replied his friend; "it is the result of chance or of 
evolution." "Why," said the skeptic, "you are mocking 
me." "True," said the other, "I am mocking you; but 
why do you think I am mocking you when I affirm that 
no intelligent mind planned and made this little machine, 
but you affirm the same of the much more complicated 
machinery of this material universe?" The argument 
was effectual. The atheist saw the absurdity of his posi- 
tion and forever abandoned it. 

Order is written everywhere. Harmony and beauty 
are upon every hand. Design is impressed upon every- 
thing, animate and inanimate, and where there is design 
there must of necessity be a designer. That designer is 
the one living and true God. 

David says, "The fool saith in his heart, There is no 
God." That is the secret of atheism. Men feel the weight 
and guilt of their sins. They shudder at the thought of 
coming before God with sinful hearts and polluted lives, 



98 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

hence they wish in their hearts that God is not. The 
wish becomes father to the thought. No man ever said 
in his reason, there is no God. Daniel Webster said he 
tried to disbelieve the Bible, but he was confronted upon 
every hand by evidences of its truth. 

We once heard of a blatant atheist in Pennsylvania 
who was met one day by a simple-minded, Christian 
Dutchman who said to him, "Do you peliefs der ish no 
Got?" "Yes," said the atheist, "there is no God." "Oh, 
veil, den," said the Dutchman, "you musht be von fery 
schmart man. I have heard tell apout you. My Bible tells 
apout you. My Bible says, 'The fool says in his heart 
der ish no Got/ but you big fool you, you yust blab it right 
oud." 



FAITHFULNESS IN LITTLE THINGS. 

To do nothing because we can not do something that 
the world calls great is the most consummate foolishness. 
Every little duty faithfully discharged becomes a rung in 
the ladder by which the soul rises to the heights of 
truest, greatest and realest success. He who neglects these 
will remain at the foot of the ladder. "Strange that men 
will be content to grovel . . . when they might rise to 
the rank of gods !" exclaimed Hypatia, and we can but 
join in the exclamation when we see the many blighted 
lives all about us — lives waiting to do some great things, 
and letting present opportunities go to the winds. 

We must measure human actions, not by present in- 
fluence, but by ultimate results. When we were little 
boys my brother and I often played upon the margin of 
a lake near my father's house. We would amuse ourselves 
by casting a pebble into the midst of the lake and watch- 



FAITHFULXESS IN LITTLE THINGS. 99 

ing the result. As soon as it fell upon the water it pro- 
duced almost numberless wavelets which danced and shim- 
mered in the sunlight. At the first these wavelets were 
so numerous and so small that we could not distinguish 
them one from another. Presently they became more dis- 
tinctly outlined. On and on they went in all directions 
from a common center, and in ever-widening and ever- 
deepening circles, growing in size and momentum, until 
at last they washed themselves up at our feet and broke 
themselves into spray. 

How like these are the circles of influence proceeding 
from every good act of our lives ! They may be almost 
imperceptible to us at first, but they are not to be despised. 
They may seem of little worth, but must not be ignored. 
He who notes the sparrow's fall, He who hears the young 
ravens when they cry, He who numbers the hairs of our 
heads, He who clothes the lily with a glory surpassing that 
of Solomon — this infinite One will note their progress, and 
these wavelets of a hallowed influence will go on and on, 
assuming grander and yet grander proportions, until they 
will wash themselves up on the shores of the eternal world. 
Oh the worth of human life ! Oh the boundless extent 
of human action ! Dear young Christian, who shall set 
the stakes and' fix the boundaries of your good deeds? 
Who shall say of your influence, "Thus far thou shalt go 
and no farther"? 

It is a principle in physics that nothing is wasted nor 
annihilated. It is as certainly true in the world of mind 
and in the domain of ethics. 

Shakespeare made Antony tell a falsehood when he 
said, "The evil that men do lives after them; the good 
is oft interred with their bones." Both evil and good live 
after us, and go on blessing or cursing the world. 



100 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

Very prettily does Longfellow tell the tale of human 
influence in his little poem entitled 

"THE ARROW AND THE SONG." 

"I shot an arrow into the air, 
It fell to the earth, I knew not where; 
For so swiftly it flew, the sight 
Could not follow it in its flight. 

"I breathed a song into the air, 
It fell to the earth, I knew not where; 
For who has sight so keen and strong 
That it can follow the flight of a song? 

"Long, long years afterward in an oak 
I found the arrow still unbroke; 

And the song from beginning to end 
I found again in the heart of a friend." 



PEACE. 

The mission of Jesus to this world was a mission of 

peace. 

The prophets had foretold this peaceful mission. Un- 
der his reign the lion and the lamb should lie down 
together. Christ was foretold as the Prince of peace. 

When Jesus came, the angels sang, "Peace on earth 
and good will to men/' and among the first blessings that 
fell from our Saviour's lips was that upon the peace- 
makers, who should be called the children of God. 

Jesus desired to make peace between Jew and Gen- 
tile. He found these two great classes at enmity with 
each other. The Gentile hated the Jew and the Jew 
looked upon the Gentile as no better than a dog. This 
antipathy had existed for ages. The law of Moses had 



PEACE. 101 



hedged the Jews in, and compassed them about, and es- 
tablished an exclusive nation with an exclusive religion. 
Added to this law were the traditions of the elders, and 
these constituted a formidable middle wall of partition 
between Jew and Gentile. 

The Gentile was an alien from the commonwealth of 
Israel, and a stranger to the covenants of promise, and 
he was without God and without hope in the world. 

Jesus came to destroy the enmity by the cross, and 
so make peace. His religion teaches that God is no 
respecter of persons; but that in every nation he that 
feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted of 
him. 

Jesus said to the Jews, "Other sheep I have which are 
not of this fold. They shall hear my voice, and there 
shall be one fold and one shepherd/' Wherever the Spirit 
of our dear Saviour is manifested, there middle walls 
are torn down, and there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond 
nor free, male nor female; but all are one in Christ 
Jesus. Jesus came to teach, not patriotism, but philan- 
thropy: not love of country, but love of humanity. He 
knows no sectional spirit nor national boundaries. "The 
whole world for Christ and Christ for the whole world," 
should be our motto. 

Jesus came to make peace among nations. This was 
also predicted by the prophets. Under his reign men 
were to beat their swords into ploughshares, and their 
spears into pruning-hooks, and nations should learn war 
no more. This is a consummation devoutly to be wished. 

Where is there a heart that does not grow sick be- 
cause of the character of the world's history? Strip 
ancient history of its annals of war and bloodshed, and 
there is scarcely a skeleton of history remaining. The 
nations worshiped the god of war, and that nation which 



102 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

could shed the most blood was crowned with the greatest 
glory. 

Christ taught non-resistance. He bade Peter put up 
his sword. He said, "My kingdom is not of this world, 
else would my servants fight." He teaches men not to 
avenge themselves, but to settle their difficulties by arbi- 
tration. It has taken the nations a long time to learn 
these lessons ; but they are learning them and a better day 
is dawning upon the world. Almost universal peace reigns 
throughout the world. Stupendous difficulties, like those 
growing out of the "Alabama Claims" and the Samoan 
complications, were settled without a drop of blood. Noth- 
ing but the prevalence of the Christian religion could 
make this possible. 

Last of all, and best of all, Jesus came to bring peace 
to troubled hearts. He said to his sorrowing disciples, 
"My peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. 
Not such as the world giveth give I unto you." 

Does temptation sweep over the heart-strings like a 
tempest? He who stilled the stormy waves and winds 
of Galilee can calm all the fierce passions of the soul. 
Is the heart torn and bleeding because of bitter sorrows 
and deep bereavements? Jesus says, "Peace, it is I." 
Are you overburdened with care and trouble? "Cast 
thy burden upon the Lord, and he will sustain thee." 

"Sweet peace! Oh, let thy heavenly ray 
Shed its calm radiance o'er my road; 
Its kindly light shall cheer me on — 
Guide to the endless peace of God.*' 



THE WAY OF SALVATION. 103 



THE WAY OF SALVATION. 

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world and 
preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is 
baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be 
damned."— Mark 16:15, 1G. 

The religion of our Lord is an aggressive one. Its 
purpose is no less than the conquest of the whole world. 
Far back in the days of Abraham the great Father had 
said, "In thee and thy seed shall all the nations be 
blessed." It was a stupendous enterprise, but how could 
we expect less from Him who made the worlds and who 

". . . plants his footsteps on the sea 
And rides upon the storm"? 

Fleetwood, in his "Life of Christ," has said: "Jesus 
came to the world inspired with the grandest purpose 
that ever was formed, that of saving from sin and death, 
not Mary and Martha and Lazarus, and Peter and James 
and John — not these alone — but all the w r orld of man- 
kind." 

The universality of this religion is its glory. It had 
its beginning and unfolding in the little land of Pales- 
tine, a country no larger than the State of Illinois. Its 
Founder and Life was not beyond those narrow confines 
but once, and that w r as in his infancy, when carried by 
Joseph and Mary into Egypt to escape the wrath of a 
jealous king. And yet, narrow and circumscribed as 
seemed his earthly ministry, when it was completed it was 
adapted to the wants of all peoples, tongues and climes, 
and perfectly meets and satisfies the wants and longings 
of the great heart of humanity. I repeat, this is its chief- 



104 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

est glory. All other schemes of benevolence and systems 
of philanthropy are utterly insignificant as compared with 
this. It is alike fitted to the high and the lowly, the 
learned and the illiterate, the rich and the poor, the hon- 
orable and the outcast. No one need despair, for salva- 
tion is within easy reach of all. "Whosoever will, let him 
come and drink of the water of life freely." In this re- 
ligion are depths of wisdom so profound that it invites 
the scholarship of the world, and yet there is enough that 
is simple and plain to meet the wants of a child. 

But a religion will not propagate itself. Some person, 
or persons, must make it a living, active principle in the 
life. It has been said: 

"Truth crushed to earth will rise again, 
The eternal years of God are hers," 

but it will never rise of itself. It is utterly powerless. 
Some one must take it up and become its advocate. Our 
Captain recognized this, hence the Great Commission at 
the head of this article. The gospel must be preached. 
The gospel is the great lever that must accomplish the 
moral uplifting of a lost and ruined race. To-day the 
nations are lying in darkness and sin, save where the 
gospel has been preached. To-day there are eight hun- 
dred and fifty-six millions of heathen, and one hundred 
and seventy millions of Mohammedans, because the gos- 
pel has not been preached to them. 

"For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by 
wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness 
of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews 
require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: but 
we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jew a stumbling- 
block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them 



THE WAY OF SALVATION. 105 

which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power 
of God, and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor. 1 : 21-24). 

The way of the gospel is the way of salvation. If men 
will be saved, we must preach the gospel to them. We 
must 

"Repeat the story o'er and o'er, 
Of grace so full and free; 
I love to hear it more and more, 
Since grace has rescued me." 

We must proclaim the gospel in the fullness of its 
facts, commands and promises, urging the people to ac- 
cept its glorious facts, obey its divine commandments and 
trust with joy and hope its heaven-given and soul-cheer- 
ing promises. Do not forget that this is an aggressive 
warfare, and there can be no peace until a sinful world 
grounds the weapons of its warfare and makes an un- 
conditional surrender to him who is at once the King of 
kings and Lord of lords. Jesus gathered up all the au- 
thority in heaven and in earth, and hurled it down through 
the ages in one aggressive word, "Go !" We must not 
sit down and idly fold our arms and wait for the world 
to come to us, but we must carry heaven's armament right 
into the heart of the enemy's country. Oh, may we be 
faithful to the order of our King, "Go teach all the 
nations." 

We have seen that the gospel is the power of God 
unto salvation — that it is the lever employed in the moral 
uplifting of the race. But it is not enough for the truth 
to be preached. The truth is powerless for good unless 
it is believed. It must become a living, active principle 
in men's lives, hence no man can know The Way of Sal- 
vation unless he becomes a man of faith. 

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of faith 



106 SEBMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

in the Christian economy. Indeed, God has always re- 
quired it under all the dispensations of his providence. 
The holy men and women under the Patriarchal and 
Jewish dispensations walked by faith in God, and a com- 
ing Saviour, and when that Saviour came he made it the 
primary step in order to become a Christian, and the un- 
derlying principle of the Christian life. 

"We walk by faith and not by sight;" "Whatsoever 
is not of faith is sin;" "Without faith it is impossible to 
please him;" "The just shall live by faith" — these are a 
few declarations of Holy Writ that teach the indispensa- 
ble necessity of faith. They can be multiplied many 
times. 

The apostle Peter presents a stairway, as it were, by 
which men can ascend to heaven. The first step in the 
stairway is "faith;" the second, "virtue;" the third, 
"knowledge;" the fourth, "temperance;" the fifth, "pa- 
tience;" the sixth, "brotherly kindness;" the seventh, 
"godliness;" and the eighth, "charity." The foot of this 
stairway is upon earth — the other extremity reaches the 
very portals of heaven, for the apostle says if we do these 
things we shall have an abundant entrance into the ever- 
lasting kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faith is the 
first step in the stairway. If we refuse to take that step, 
we will fail in all the rest. (2 Pet. 1 : 5-11.) 

In God's demand that men exercise faith there is noth- 
ing arbitrary. There is a profound philosophy underly- 
ing it. The Saviour said, again and again, "As thy 
faith is, so be it unto thee." This is true in all the walks 
of life. Men act in harmony with their faith. The 
farmer sows his grain, and cultivates his fields, because 
he has faith in a coming harvest. Without that faith he 
would not stir a furrow. The student applies himself 
to his studies because of his faith in the good results that 



THE WAY OF SALVATIOX. 107 

will follow. In short, men do not act in the agricultural, 
commercial or intellectual world without faith. The se- 
curity of the commercial world depends upon faith be- 
tween man and man. When such faith fails, panics are 
sure to follow. 

No more will men act in religion, and develop the 
graces and beauties of the Christian system, without faith 
in Christ — the author of that system — who embodied 
these graces and beauties in his own matchless life and 
character. Salvation follows faith because faith leads to 
the virtues that save. 

W T hat is faith? It is belief, confidence, trust. If I 
say that I have faith in you, I mean that I believe in you. 
I have confidence in you. I am willing to trust you. So, 
if I have faith in the Christ, I believe in him, I have 
confidence in him, and I am willing to put my trust in 
him. The Bible uses these terms interchangeably, for 
Paul says : "Without faith it is impossible to please him ; 
for he that would come to God must believe that he is, and 
that he is a rewarder of all those that diligently seek him" 
(Heb. 11 : 5, 6). I am aware that much has been written 
and spoken about what constitutes faith, but a very great 
deal of that which has been spoken and written has only 
served to darken counsel and obscure the subject. Faith 
is that action of the mind by which we accept truth, or 
by which we accept him who is the Way, the Truth and 
the Life. 

How many faiths are men required to exercise ? Were 
we to listen to the jargon of the religious world, we might 
become confused, for we hear about "head faith," "heart 
faith," "gospel faith," "saving faith," "evangelical faith," 
"historical faith," "orthodox faith," etc. Indeed, the re- 
ligious world to-day illustrates many conflicting faiths. 
But we have not to do with these in this article, but 



108 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

rather, How many faiths does the Bible require? And 
with what feelings of relief do we turn from the conflict- 
ing theories of men to the infallible answer of the apostle 
Paul, "There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism." The 
Bible is a unit and it requires but one faith. (Eph. 
4:1-5.) 

What is this one faith? It is not in the dogmas of 
men. It is not in theories and speculations. It is not 
in the contradictory systems of so-called orthodoxy. The 
only faith that the Bible requires is faith in Jesus, the Son 
of God. If I believe in this divine One, I accept him in all 
the sublime facts connected with his miraculous conception, 
his birth, his life, his death, his burial, his resurrection, his 
ascension, his coronation, and his mediatorial reign. By 
faith in Christ I accept him in all his commands to repent, 
to confess him before men, to be baptized and to live a 
holy life. If I believe in Christ, I accept all his precious 
promises of pardon, peace with God, sanctification, justi- 
fication and final glorification. In short, I accept him 
in all his offices of Prophet, Priest and King. 

How may I obtain this faith? By accepting the tes- 
timony God has given concerning his Son. "Many other 
signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples which 
are not written in this book, but these are written that 
ye might believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, 
and that believing ye might have life in his name" 
(John 20:30,31). "So then faith cometh by hearing, 
and hearing by the word of God" (Eom. 10:13-17). 
We can only reject Christ by doing violence to all the 
rules of evidence, and violating all the laws governing tes- 
timony. No historical proposition rests upon a firmer 
basis than that Jesus arose from the dead. If we reject 
that, we may reject all the facts of history by the same 



THE WAY OF SALVATION. 109 

process of reasoning. Lord, increase our faith, and help 
thou our unbelief. 

After the gospel has been accepted by a hearty faith, 
it must be followed by repentance, deep and thorough. 
The importance of repentance has been taught in all dis- 
pensations. Whenever men have sinned they were required 
to repent in order to receive the divine favor. The New 
Testament especially abounds in teaching its indispensable 
necessity. It was the burden of John's ministry in pre- 
paring the people for the reception of the coming Mes- 
siah. (Matt. 3: 1-12.) Jesus condemned the cities where 
he had wrought so many miracles because they were not 
moved to repent. (Matt. 11:20-24.) He praised the 
people of Nineveh above his generation because they re- 
pented at the preaching of Jonah. (Matt. 12:41.) He 
declared that all who refused to repent would inevitably 
perish. (Luke 13:1-5.) He made repentance one of 
the conditions in the Great Commission. (Luke 24:47.) 
The apostles, laboring under this commission, everywhere 
required repentance of the people. (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 
17: 30.) Last of all, the goodness of God, with his long- 
suffering and forbearance, is intended to lead men to re- 
pentance. (Eom. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9.) Indeed, there is 
not love enough in the universe of God to save an unre- 
pentant sinner. Until salvation becomes a coercive work 
this can not be done. 

What is repentance? It is not a mere sentiment, or 
emotion of the heart. It is not even sorrow for sin, nor 
yet godly sorrow for sin. It is a deeper work than all 
of these. It is an act in which, with sorrow for sin, we turn 
away from them and forsake them. It is reformation. It 
is a thorough, radical change of character and transforma- 
tion of life. It is restitution as far as it is possible to 
make restitution for the wrongs we have committed. It 



110 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

is ceasing to do evil and learning to do well. It involves 
fruit-bearing to the glory of God. It is to forget the 
things that are behind and press toward the mark for 
the prize of the high calling of God which is in Christ 
Jesus. (Phil. 3:13,14.) Paul expresses it when he 
says, "The things I once loved, I now hate," and when he 
exhorts the brethren, "Be not conformed to this world, 
but be ye transformed" (Bom. 12:2). That idea that a 
man can come into the church carrying the world on his 
back, and be an acceptable Christian, is wholly foreign to 
all Bible teaching. "Wherefore come out from among 
them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not 
the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and I will be a 
Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, 
saith the Lord Almighty" (2 Cor. 6:17,18). Zaccheus 
understood the true nature of repentance when he offered 
to restore fourfold to those whom he had defrauded. Ke- 
pentance means that the dishonest man shall provide 
things honest in the sight of all men, that the gambler 
i shall forsake his den, that the libertine must abandon his 
wanton revels, that the profane shall cease to swear, that 
the drinker must quit his cups, that those who are married 
contrary to the Bible law of divorce shall dissolve their 
unholy unions, and that man shall faithfully meet his 
obligations to the God of heaven, whom he has long insulted 
and defied, and to Jesus the Christ, whom he has pierced 
and crucified again and again by sin. 

When should men repent? Certainly now, for we 
can be certain of no other opportunity. 

"Trust no future, howe'er pleasant, 
Let the dead past bury its dead: 
Act, act in the living present, 
Heart within and God o'erhead." 



THE WAY OP SALVATION. Ill 

After the sinner has repented of his sins, it becomes 
necessary for him to formally commit himself, openly 
before the world, to the service of Christ. He must not 
serve the Lord secretly or clandestinely. He must not 
seek the Saviour as if he were ashamed of him, nor, like 
Mcodemus, come to Jesus only in the night-time. The 
church of Christ is not a "secret order/' but he who 
founded it said: "Ye are the light of the world. A city 
that is set on a hill cannot be hid: neither do men light 
a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, 
and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let 
your light so shine before men, that they may see your 
good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" 
(Matt. 5:14-16). 

We must let the world know just where we stand. 
There come times in every man's life when he must show 
his hand, and that time, for the sinner, is when he gives 
his heart to the Saviour. There must be no cringing, 
cowering work here. I know it requires a stout heart and 
a heroic spirit to confess Christ before men. I know it 
costs the man the severest struggle of his life, but the con- 
fession must be made. Salvation depends upon it. The 
apostle says: "The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, 
and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we 
preach: that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth £he 
Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath 
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with 
the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the 
mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Eom. 10: 
8-10). 

Some one may be ready to say, "My friends will for- 
sake me and grievous persecutions will come upon me if 
I make this confession." Be it so. Such considerations 



112 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

must not overbalance your love for Christ and your loyal- 
ty to him. 

"Man may trouble and distress me, 

'Twill but drive me to Thy breast; 
Life with trials hard may press me, 

Heav'n will bring me sweeter rest. 
Oh, 'tis not in grief to harm me, 

While Thy love is left to me; 
Oh, 'twere not in joy to charm me, 

Were that joy unmixed with Thee." 

Neither the pleasures of this world, nor its scoffs and 
its frowns, should receive a moment's consideration when 
duty demands that we publicly confess our Lord. W r hen 
the three Hebrew children were commanded to worship 
the golden image, there was only one line of conduct for 
them. God — their God — had said, "Thou shalt not wor- 
ship any graven image." What cared they for the king's 
stern decree, or for the threatened fiery furnace? God 
had spoken and it was theirs to obey. 

Shall we hesitate to confess the Saviour because of the 
petty persecutions of our friends (?) when we can but 
remember that the early Christians confessed him at the 
cost of the loss of home and family and property and 
native land, and ofttimes of life itself? Hunger and 
thirst, stripes and imprisonments, scourgings and martyr- 
doms — these were the prices paid by the early Christians 
for their public confession of Christ. Hear the Saviour, 
"He that will save his life shall lose it, and he that will 
lose his life, for my sake, shall find it," and he further 
teaches us that we must love him more than father, 
mother, brother, sister, wife, home, lands or life itself. 

"But," another may say, "such a confession of my faith 
will render me unpopular." Better by far that you sacri- 
fice your popularity than your interest in salvation. Popu- 



THE WAY OF SALVATION. 113 

larity is a bauble not worth the seeking. I'd rather walk 
alone with God than go with the multitude without him. 
"I'd rather walk with him by faith, than walk alone by 
sight." John, standing alone by the cross that held the 
uplifted Saviour, was to be envied infinitely more than 
the multitudes that crucified him. Popularity indeed ! 
Fling it to the winds. Must the disciple be greater than 
his Lord? Of all the unpopular beings that have in- 
habited this earth of ours, the Saviour himself was the 
most unpopular. He constantly antagonized the leaders 
of the people and was made to brook the frowns and scoffs 
of a heartless world. He confessed that he was the Christ 
when he knew that he would pay the penalty with his 
blood. 

So you must confess him if you would be saved. Hear 
the Saviour again, "Whosoever will confess me before men, 
him will I confess before my Father in heaven. And 
whosoever will deny me before men, him will I deny be- 
fore my Father in heaven" (Matt. 10:32,33). 

We can not admit you to baptism nor to the fellowship 
of the church, unless you are willing first to confess with 
all the heart your faith in Jesus the Christ, the Son of 
God. (Acts 8:36,37.) Thus confessing him, you ac- 
cept him in all his offices of Saviour, Prophet, Priest and 
King. Thus confessing him, you commit yourself to his 
service, you renounce your allegiance to the world, the 
flesh and the devil, and swear eternal fealty to him who 
is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Thus confessing 
him, you will be owned of him and your name will be 
written in letters of shining light upon the page of the 
Lamb's Book of Life. Thus confessing him, you will 
honor the Lord and bring untold honors upon your own 
head. Oh, confess him now. 

Baptism is the immediate duty that follows the con- 



114 SEEMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

fession of faith, and it has its peculiar place in the plan 
of salvation. Indeed, no one who has arrived at the age 
of accountability, has the promise of salvation without 
it. Of course baptism of itself can do no possible good. 
It must not be disassociated from Christ, nor from its 
antecedents. Unless preceded by a preached gospel, by a 
living faith, by a hearty repentance and a hearty profes- 
sion of faith, and unless obeyed in the spirit of loyalty to 
our Lord's command, it can do no possible good. With- 
out these antecedents it can possess no more virtue than 
would the action of a man who accidentally falls from a 
log into the water. This forever debars infant baptism. 
There is no divine warrant for it, no command authoriz- 
ing it, and of necessity there can be no faith, repentance 
nor confession to precede it. If there is a people in the 
world who believe that water alone saves, it must be that 
people who practice infant sprinkling. There is nothing 
but water, and even very little of that! The child can 
possibly have no change of heart (it doesn't need it), nor 
faith nor repentance. It can know nothing of its purpose 
when performed, nor can it remember it in the future. 

A woman said to me recently, "I was baptized in 
infancy/' Said I, "How do you know that?" She an- 
swered, "My friends have told me." "What can an 
obedience be worth," said I, "that we know nothing about 
save what our friends may tell us ?" I must say that in- 
fant baptism is a threefold forgery. It is done in the 
name (by the authority) of the Father and of the Son and 
the Holy Spirit, whereas neither the Father, Son nor Holy 
Spirit ever authorized the use of their names in such a 
connection. What is it but forgery? The Saviour never 
authorized the baptism of any but those who are taught 
and who are penitent believers. (See Matt. 28:19,20; 
Mark 16:15,16; Acts 2:36-38.) 



THE WAY OP SALVATION. 115 

How is baptism performed? I submit the following 
Scripture passages and diagram: 

I. The Saviour s Baptism — Matt. 3 : 16. Two things 
are involved in his baptism. Water is the element, and 
it required a going up out of the water. 

II. Jesus' Language to Nicodemus — John 3 : 5. 
Nearly all commentators agree that "born of water" refers 
to baptism. Then, baptism as taught by the Saviour must 
be a form of birth or coming forth. 

III. John's Baptism to which Jesus Submitted — John 
3 : 23. This required much water. 

IV. The Baptism of the Ethiopian Eunuch — Acts 
8 : 38, 39. This required a going down into the water both 
of the candidate and administrator, and, after the bap- 
tism was performed, a going up out of the water. 

V. The Baptism to which the Whole Church at Rome 
had Submitted. — Eom. 6 : 4, 5. This was at once a burial, 
a resurrection and a planting. This was PauPs baptism, 
for he says, "Therefore, we are buried with him by bap- 
tism," thus classing himself with all his brethren at Eome. 

CONCLUSION. 

Prom all these Scriptures it is clear that baptism in- 
volves "water," "much water," going "down into the 
water," coming "up out of the water," a "birth," a 
"resurrection" and a "planting." Do all, or either, of the 
three practices of Christendom satisfy all these demands? 
I submit the following diagram: 

Baptism Requires 

1. Water. 

2. Much Water. 

3. Going into the Water. 

4. Coming out of the Water. 



116 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 



5. 


Form of Birth. 


6. 


Form of Burial. 


7. 


Form of Resurrection. 


8. 


Form of Planting. 




Immersion Requires 


1. 


Water. 


2. 


Much Water. 


3. 


Going into the Water. 


4. 


Coming out of the Water. 


5. 


Form of Birth. 


6. 


Form of Burial. 


7. 


Form of Resurrection. 


8. 


Form of Planting. 




Sprinkling and Pouring Require 


1. 


Water. 


2. 




3. 




4. 




5. 




6. 




7. 




8. 





Thus immersion meets all the conditions, but sprink- 
ling and pouring only meet one condition, viz. : Water 
is the element. Neither of them requires much water, nor 
a going down into the water, nor a coming up out of the 
water, nor a birth, burial, planting, resurrection, nor do 
they represent any part of the gospel. They are wholly 
meaningless and insignificant. He that has eyes to see, 
let him see. 

"But is baptism necessary?" I will answer that ques- 
tion by asking others : Is it necessary to obey God's com- 
mands? "Yes." Is baptism a command? "Yes." Then, 



THE WAY OP SALVATION. 117 

according to your own admission, it is necessary to be bap- 
tized. 

One of our preachers once gave his auditors the privi- 
lege to ask any question they pleased. A gentleman arose 
and said, "Do you believe that baptism is necessary?" 
The preacher answered, "Jesus said, Suffer it to be so 
now, for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." 
"But," said the man, "do you think it is necessary?" 
Again the preacher said, "Jesus said that many of the 
scribes and Pharisees rejected the counsel of God against 
themselves by refusing to be baptized of John in Jordan." 
"But what do you think of it ?" said the man. Again the 
answer came, "Jesus said, Go teach all nations, baptizing 
them into the name of the Pather, Son and Holy Spirit." 
"You are trifling with me/' said the querist; "I want to 
know if you think it is necessary." Said the preacher, 
"Jesus said, 'Except a man be born of water and the 
Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven/ " 
"But I want to know what is your opinion of the matter," 
said the querist. Again came the Scriptural reply, "Peter 
said, 'Kepent, and be baptized every one of you in the name 
of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall 
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." 

At this juncture the colloquy ceased. The preacher 
did just right. There was no room for his "think-so's" 
and "opinions." The Lord had spoken, and what could 
the loyal preacher do but give a "thus saith the Lord" in 
reply to the man's question ? The people should be made 
to feel that it is rebellion to question the authority of 
Heaven for a moment. They should be made to feel that 
baptism is right because it is commanded. That is all the 
loyal heart needs to know. It is not necessary to know its 
design in order to make baptism acceptable. If the indi- 
vidual loves the Lord and that love leads him to be bap- 



118 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

tized, his baptism is valid, whether he knows its design 
or not. Too many sermons have been preached on the de- 
sign of baptism, and too few on the necessity of loyalty to 
heaven's King. Salvation is in Christ and his blood takes 
away all sin. Faith, repentance, confession and baptism 
are only stepping-stones to bring us to Christ. I never use 
the expression, "Baptism is for the remission of sins." The 
Bible nowhere uses the expression and much less teaches 
the idea. Oh ! the unguarded expressions that have fallen 
from the lips of many of our brethren and even our preach- 
ers. What wrong impressions have been made when these 
expressions have fallen upon prejudiced ears. In dealing 
with these mooted questions we can not be too careful to 
use the very language of Scripture. 

Nor can we be too careful to teach the people that bap- 
tism alone can possess no possible virtue and that the water 
never possesses any cleansing efficacy for sin. In this age 
of false theology we must be doubly guarded, and give the 
people line upon line and precept upon precept with refer- 
ence to yielding unquestioning obedience to whatever the 
Lord commands. 

I have presented four steps to be taken by the sinner 
in order to become a Christian, and secure salvation from 
all his past sins, and that he may stand in God's presence 
"washed, sanctified, justified in the name of the Lord 
Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Cor. 6:11). 
These four steps are a living faith in Christ, a sincere 
repentance, a public profession of faith in Christ with the 
whole heart, and a hearty obedience to Christ in baptism. 

I want to call your attention to one element that must 
accompany all the others, viz. : prayer, or calling upon 
the name of the Lord. It is this spirit of prayer that 
renders all acts of obedience acceptable to God. I have 
often been disgusted with the discussion of the question, 



THE WAY OF SALVATION. 119 

"Has the sinner a right to pray ?" I have been humiliated, 
again and again, by hearing preachers, and others, say 
that they have no such privilege. You might as well try 
to obstruct the waters of the Mississippi, or stay the tides 
of old ocean, as to prevent a convicted man from pray- 
ing. The penitent believer will as certainly pray as will 
a hungry man long for bread, or a thirsty man for drink. 
We may as well discuss the question, "Shall we let the 
sun shine ?" as to ask, "May the sinner pray ?" 

Of course the impenitent sinner has no right to pray. 
He doesn't want any such right. It will be time enough 
to discuss their prayers when they begin to practice 
prayer — and that will never be. 

In the Saviour's graphic picture of the Pharisee and 
publican, the latter prayed, "Lord, be merciful to me, a 
sinner/' and the Saviour approved his prayer. On the 
cross the penitent thief prayed, and the crucified Saviour 
graciously heard him. Paul spent the three days from 
the time of his conviction until his baptism in earnest 
prayer and supplication. 

Cornelius was a man who prayed without ceasing 
before his conversion, and when the angel of the Lord 
appeared to him, he said, "Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, 
and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of 
God" (Acts 10:31). 

When Ananias commanded Saul to "arise and be bap- 
tized," it was to be accompanied by "calling upon the 
name of the Lord" (Acts 22: 16). 

From all these beautiful passages, it is clear that the 
sinner has the right to pray, and that he can pray with 
the assurance that his prayers will be heard. Of course 
he can not say, "Our Father in heaven," before he be- 
comes a child of God, neither does he possess the right of 
petition that belongs to the Christian; but he can petition 



120 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

for citizenship in Christ's kingdom, and he can pray 
that forgiveness of sins may attend his acts of obedience. 
His prayers would be unavailing unless accompanied by 
that obedience which the Lord requires; but this is also 
true of the Christian's prayers. Prayer, to be efficacious, 
must always be in the line of obedience. I trust that 
our preachers who may read this will never take the un- 
scriptural and unreasonable position that the sinner has 
not the right to pray. We have all been disgusted with 
that modern theology that makes prayer about the only 
agency in conversion; but in our attempt to get away 
from Babylon we should not rush past Jerusalem. 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 121 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 

THE TWO ELEMENTS OF RELIGION. 

True religion has to do with the heart and with the 
outward life. There have been two extremes among re- 
ligionists. Some have made everything of the inner life, 
to the utter neglect of form and ceremony. Others have 
made everything of the outward form, to the neglect of 
heart power and vital piety. The one extreme leads to 
mysticism and fanaticism; the other to that which is per- 
functory and mechanical. 

The Jewish teachers of our Saviour's time exalted 
forms and neglected the heart, and Jesus condemned them 
in severest terms. 

The Mohammedans have emphasized formality and 
neglected piety; hence the awful atrocities practiced by 
them upon the Armenian Christians. 

The Church of Rome has made too much of form and 
ceremony and too little of real consecration and piety. 
This has led to saint worship, image worship, abstaining 
from meats, abstaining from marriage, the sale of indul- 
gences, auricular confession, the doctrine of purgatory, 
counting the rosary, high mass and many other unserip- 
tural forms. This emphasis upon formalism led to the 
darkness of the Middle Ages. The Reformation was a 
protest against all this. 

But Protestants may be guilty of the same sin. 
It is possible for a man to observe all the Heaven-ordained 
forms of religion and not be a Christian. Singing, pray- 
ing, preaching, communing, baptizing and giving are all 



122 SEEMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

forms of true religion and ordained by God, but a man 
may sing, and it may be only empty mouthing. He may 
pray, and yet his prayer go no higher than his head. 
He may preach, and yet be not called of God. He may 
commune, and yet receive no blessing. He may be bap- 
tized, and yet receive no benefit. He may give like a 
Eockefeller, and yet be damned. 

Unless all these acts of religion proceed from the heart, 
and are prompted by love to God and love to man, they 
can not satisfy the soul. God judges not only the acts we 
perform, but the motives which prompt the acts. As well 
try to satisfy a hungry man with the pictures of bread 
or a thirsty man with the shadows of water as to satisfy 
the soul with the mere forms and ceremonies of religion. 

What a piano would be without strings, an organ with- 
out keys or a nut without a kernel is religion without 
heart power and vital piety. 

FRUITS OF UNBELIEF. 

Jesus said a tree is known by its fruits. This is the 
only way one can judge of the nature of a fruit-bearing 
tree. The tree may be stately and symmetrica] in ap- 
pearance, and may have a profusion of leaves and flowers, 
and } T et be worthless. 

Side by side for eighteen hundred years and more have 
grown the tree of Christianity and the tree of unbelief. 
Let us remove the drapery and examine the fruit borne 
by the infidel tree. 

What have been its fruits in Eussia? They call it 
Nihilism. That word comes from a Latin root that 
means nothing. Nihilism is nothingism. All forms of 
infidelity are nothingism. All infidelity is negative and 
not positive. It denies everything. 

Wherever Nihilism is deeply rooted there is no secu- 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 123 

rity for life or property. A Russian Nihilist was con- 
demned to execution. While in his prison cell he beguiled 
the hours by carving his creed upon the stone wall: "No 
God; no Christ; no Bible; no heaven; no hell; no life 
after death. Grab all you can get; but be careful that 
you don't get grabbed/' 

In Germany infidelity was called rationalism. There 
was a time when every great German university was given 
over almost wholly to this theory, and German student 
life became riotous and disorderly. They could not con- 
trol the student body, and those universities have been only 
too glad to reinstate the Bible to its rightful place. 

Every student of history knows too well the influence 
of infidelity in France. It had its age of reason. Every 
possible effort was made to destroy the Bible and dethrone 
Christ. Voltaire predicted that with the death of the 
eighteenth century Christianity would die. Voltaire is 
dead enough; but Christianity is still very much alive. 
France dethroned Christ among her people and enthroned 
Reason as her only god. But France could not control 
her people. The streets of Paris again and again ran 
red with the blood of her citizens. France had to come 
back to the religion of the Bible. When a nation forgets 
God it loses the only power by which it can control the 
masses. "The wicked shall be turned into hell, with all 
the nations that forget God/' 

What have been the fruits of unbelief in our own be- 
loved country? In less than forty-five years it has as- 
sassinated three Presidents — Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley. 
It was responsible for the awful tragedy at the Hay Mar- 
ket Square in Chicago, where, without a moment's warn- 
ing, innocent men, women and children were blown into 
eternity. It has poisoned the minds of the boys and 
girls of America with obscene pictures and vulgar litera- 



124 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

ture. It stifles all benevolence upon the part of its ad- 
herents, No one can point to a benevolent institution that 
has been founded and fostered by any form of unbelief. 
It has never so much as lifted the tip of its fingers to 
bring a heathen nation out of its ignorance and super- 
stition into the light of civilization. It causes men to 
live for self and for the gratification of appetite and pas- 
sion. It prepares for no future. It recognizes no future. 
It would have us believe that death ends all — that it is a 
leap into the dark. Over the graves of bur beloved dead 
it would write: Ne plus ultra — No more beyond. Thus 
it robs life of its sublime meaning, and enshrouds death 
with the very blackness of despair. 

Thus the fruit borne by the infidel tree is bad and only 
bad. 

HAS GOD REVEALED HIMSELF? 

God has revealed himself in the volume of nature. 
Nature eloquently proclaims his glory. In the grasses, 
flowers and trees ; in earth and sea and sky ; in mountain, 
hill and dale ; in the human form and feature — in all these 
we read of God's glory. 

Nature also reveals the wisdom of God. Order and 
symmetry are everywhere apparent. All things are made 
with such mathematical precision that astronomers can 
foretell the exact time of a total eclipse of the sun a 
thousand years hence. Kepler felt that in astronomy he 
read God's thoughts after Him. In the construction and 
powers of the human body, and in the wonderful workings 
of the human mind, God's wisdom is clearly shown. 

Nature reveals the power of God. He who made the 
hills and piled the mountains; he who holds the seas in 
the hollow of his hand, and says to old ocean, "Thus far 
shalt thou go and no farther;" he who controls the move- 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 125 

merits of the innumerable worlds that people space, must 
be a God of infinite power. 

Nature, to some extent, speaks of the goodness of 
God. The vital air, the cheering sunlight, the genial 
showers, the water we drink, the great variety of foods 
we eat, are supplied by him and declare his goodness. 

But, if left to nature alone, there are a thousand and 
one things that do not tell of God's goodness. If God is 
good, why are there noxious plants, poisonous minerals, 
venomous reptiles? Why does the earth produce thorns 
and thistles? 

Why are there ferocious beasts? Why do the strong 
prey upon the weak? Why pain and sickness and sorrow 
and death? Why broken hearts and desolated homes? 
Why do little children die? Why fraud and deceit and 
war and bloodshed? Nature is as silent as the tomb con- 
cerning all these questions. We must look for another 
revelation from God to man. 

God has spoken to us in the Bible. 

God has revealed to us the great questions of life, duty 
and destiny. 

Admitting that there is a God who is all-wise and all- 
powerful, we must admit that it is possible for him to 
speak to man. To say that he can not do so is to put limi- 
tations upon Jehovah that we would not put upon man. 
This would be absurd. 

Having endowed man with a mind capable of almost 
infinite development, it is wholly probable that God would 
furnish the knowledge necessary to his intellectual growth. 
It is certainly true that where the Bible is most univer- 
sally published and read we find the highest civilization. 
The law of compensation makes a revelation from God 
necessary. This law, simply stated, is this : Where there 
is a given need there must be that to meet and satisfy it. 



126 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

Hunger necessitates food, thirst demands drink; a social 
nature must have friends ; the esthetical nature must have 
beauty; the fish must have water in which to live and 
move with ease and grace; the bird must have an atmos- 
phere in which to fly. So the deep cravings of the human 
heart must be met and satisfied. In all ages men have 
been concerned about our origin and duty and destiny. 
Is it possible that the law of compensation fails at the 
chief point? Nature is as voiceless as the tomb here. 
Man needs a message from God to the soul. 

It is certain that God has spoken to man in the Bible. 
It is the center and soul and circumference of our civiliza- 
tion. Its wisdom has been the inspiration of the great 
and good of earth. Its thoughts are as high above men's 
thoughts as the heavens are above the earth. Its writers 
claimed to speak by divine inspiration. We must admit 
the truth of their claim or brand them as liars. 

Jesus constantly claimed to be the messenger and 
mouthpiece of God. We must admit that he told the 
truth or we must look upon him as the stupendous fraud 
of the ages. 

In the fact that the Bible reveals the exceeding sin- 
fulness of sin, and shows us the way of redemption; in 
the heaven it portrays; in the perfect example it puts be- 
fore us; and in its teaching concerning the noble origin 
of man, his supreme duty and his eternal destiny, we know 
that it came from God. 

Our duty is to hear and obey. 

WHY STUDY THE BIBLE? 

Admitting that God has spoken to us in the Bible, 
it places us under everlasting obligation to hear and obey 
him. There are minor and major reasons for Bible study. 
Among the minor reasons we may mention its antiquity, 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 127 

its history, its chronology, its geography, its archaeology, 
its moral precepts, its beauty, its types, its prophecy and 
its character studies. 

The Bible contains the oldest literature in the world. 
Moses wrote history before Xenophon and Herodotus. 
David sang before Homer, and Solomon wrote before 
Seneca. There is a peculiar interest belonging to objects 
of great age. The fact that here is the oldest literature 
should be sufficient cause for its study. 

Here also is history that is invaluable. Were it not 
for the history written by Moses, ages upon ages would 
be in impenetrable darkness. He records the creation of 
the universe, the origin of our race, man's primeval state, 
the introduction of evil into the world, and many other 
facts of chief interest to man. 

The Bible is not a treatise upon geography, and yet in- 
cidentally this is abundantly taught upon its pages. Much 
value attaches to this feature and no one has been able 
to show where any of its geographical statements are false. 
Read it for its ancient geography. 

In its chronology its statements are true. When the 
Bible and profane historians speak of the same events they 
agree as to the time when the events occur. Many ex- 
amples of this kind may be presented. 

Its archaeological value can not be overestimated. It 
deals with physical features of Bible lands, correctly de- 
scribing its mountains, its waters, its valleys and plains. 
It throws light upon the domestic, social, political and 
religious life of the nations of which it speaks. These 
descriptions are all true to the facts in the case. Its 
descriptions of plant and animal life can not be success- 
fully denied. In all these respects the Bible is a store- 
house of useful information. 

In its moral precepts it is not approached by any other 



128 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

literature. The law of Moses is the basis of our "com- 
mon law." This is admitted by every intelligent jurist. 
Blackstone, the highest modern authority, admitted this. 
It goes for the saying. It needs no argument. 

For beauty one can not go amiss in the Bible. Kenan, 
the great French infidel, says : "Whatever may be the sur- 
prises of the future, Jesus will never be surpassed." Dan- 
iel Webster had the greatest brain that America ever pro- 
duced. He said that the Sermon on the Mount is a model 
of logic and rhetoric. When Walter Scott, the great novel- 
ist and poet, was dying, he asked his son-in-law to read 
for him. "What book ?" said the son-in-law. "What 
book?" said the dying man, "there is but one!" It is a 
depraved taste that can not find beauty in the Bible. A 
great writer has said : "The Bible is dull when I am dull." 

Great benefit must come to him who studies the 
characters of the Bible. From Enoch we learn to walk 
with God ; from Noah, the lesson of obedience ; from Abra- 
ham, faith; from Joseph, purity; from Moses, meekness; 
from Joshua, courage; from David, praise; from Solo- 
mon, wisdom; from Peter, boldness; from John, love; 
from Paul, logic; from Christ, perfection. 

All these considerations are valuable, but the chief 
interest must center in the Christ of the Bible and in the 
plan of salvation he has devised. If our Bible study does 
not lead to Christ, and to the salvation of the soul, it will 
be vain. Better for us if we were heathen, and never heard 
the gospel, than to hear and not obey. 

We plead for the all-sufficiency of the Bible, as op- 
posed to all the creeds and dogmas of men. Paul com- 
mended Timothy because he had known the Scriptures 
from his youth, which were able to make him wise unto 
salvation, and he added: "All scripture is given by in- 
spiration of God, and is profitable for teaching, for re- 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 129 

proofs for correction, for instruction which is in righteous- 
ness ; that the man of God may be complete, furnished com- 
pletely unto every good work." 

"Blessed Bible, Book divine, 
Precious treasure, thou art mine; 
Mine to teach me what I am, 
Mine to tell me whence I came." 

FALSE METHOD AND MOTIVES IN BIBLE STUDY. 

Much of the unbelief in the world and much of the 
indifference among men concerning religion grows out of 
ignorance of the Bible or a wrong method of study. He 
who will observe the true canons of interpretation can not 
fail to see that the hand that wrote the Bible is divine, 
and that the Christ of the Bible is the Son of God. 

To study the Bible simply for literary finish is un- 
worthy. True, no man can be truly cultured who has not 
a broad and liberal knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, 
but this should not be the chief motive inspiring us. We 
should be moved by a loftier aim than that which causes 
us to read the literary productions of uninspired men. 

Nor should we study the Bible for business ends and 
with mercenary purposes in view. This is sometimes done. 
It is quite common in the legal profession and among poli- 
ticians. Should a young man place himself under the 
instruction of an old lawyer his senior will say to him: 
"Young man, become thoroughly acquainted with the 
Bible. Learn its similes, its allegories, its parables and 
many of its most striking stories. Commit much of it 
to memory." Why this advice? Simply to add to his 
power when he stands before a jury. The politician can 
often carry a point by the quotation of some appropriate 
passage from the Scripture. Shakespeare says the devil 



130 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

can make a point "and nail it with Scripture/' I am not 
reflecting upon lawyers and politicians. They are not 
sinners above their fellows. I am glad to say that the ma- 
jority of the members of the bar in my State of Missouri 
are members of the church. I simply plead that men 
should not prostitute the Bible to base uses. 

The Bible should not be studied simply for debate and 
argumentation. Of course, the Christian should be able 
to give an intelligent and Scriptural reason for his faith, 
and he should "contend earnestly for the faith once for 
all delivered to the saints," but he should avoid a belliger- 
ent and pugilistic spirit and manner. There has been too 
much theological slugging in the religious world. The 
truth should always be spoken gently and in love. 

We should not come to the Bible with our precon- 
ceived notions and opinions, determined to prove these no- 
tions at all hazards. An old farmer had this wrong habit. 
While at work he would conceive some notion, and in the 
evening he would say : "Wife, I have hit upon a new theory 
to-day and I can prove it by the Bible." Then he would 
take down the old family Bible and take a passage here 
and there and prove his theory ! Of course he could. Any- 
thing, no matter how absurd, can be proved by such meth- 
ods. The old man did this many times. At last his good 
wife became impatient of his methods and she said to him : 
"Now please sit down, open your Bible and let God talk 
to your soul." That was homely advice, and yet it was 
golden. 

By scrap-reading the Scriptures any theory can be sus- 
tained. An old infidel once said in my presence: "The 
Bible is like an old fiddle; you can play anything on it 
you please." This is certainly true if a man deals craftily 
with it and interprets it to his own destruction. I could 
occupy this hour proving absurdities in the Bible. I give 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 131 

you a few examples. Atheism can be proved by the Bible. 
David says : "There is no God." But when taken with its 
immediate context it is very different : "The fool hath said 
in his heart, There is no God." 

I can prove it right to steal. Paul says: "Let him 
that stole, steal." Of course, the next two words spoil 
the theory : "Let him that stole, steal no more." 

That eccentric preacher, Lorenzo Dow, was disgusted 
with the head-dress worn by the women. He would not 
honor them bj r calling them hats or bonnets. He called 
them topknots. He wanted to preach a sermon against 
topknots, but he felt like he could not preach without an 
appropriate text. I am opposed to textual preaching. 
Anything can be proved by textual preaching. Well, he 
found his text. When Jesus was describing the destruc- 
tion that would come upon Jerusalem he said: "Let him 
that is upon the housetop not come down, nor take any- 
thing out of his house." He cut off both ends of the 
passage and found his text: "Top-not Come Down!" I 
can prove that a man should commit suicide without delay. 
"Judas went and hanged himself. Go thou and do like- 
wise, and whatsoever you do, do quickly." All this is in 
the Bible. I can prove that a man should chew and smoke 
tobacco. The Bible says : "Let him that is filthy be filthy 
still." I can prove that there will be no women in heaven : 
"There was silence in heaven for the space of a half hour." 
Or, I can prove that they will be scarce in heaven : "And, 
behold, I saw a wonder in heaven, a woman." 

I can prove that it is right to do evil that good may 
come. Paul says so in so many words, but it is a quota- 
tion. He says : "There are those who slanderously report 
lis as saying: Let us do evil that good may come, whose 
damnation is just." 



132 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

Thus, by distorting and perverting the Scriptures, any 
absurdity may be established. 

By such methods a divided and distracted Christen- 
dom has been made possible. Partial views of truth are 
at the bottom of the whole mischief. The Bible should 
be its own interpreter, and each passage should be inter- 
preted in harmony with every other passage. 

Eeligious prejudice often prevents a correct study of 
the Bible. We look at it through theological spectacles. 
If I look at you through yellow glasses, you will seem 
yellow; blue goggles will make you look blue; and if I 
should don green glasses, how green you would appear! 
But, if I lay aside all these, and look through the eyes with 
which God has blessed me, then you will all appear just as 
you are. 

Men go to Nice, or Augsburg, or Geneva, or Oxford, 
or Philadelphia, or Andover, and procure certain theologi- 
cal spectacles, and then make the Bible assume that pe- 
culiar hue. It is wrong. It has destroyed the peace and 
unity for which our Saviour so earnestly prayed. 

Speak, Lord, and thy servant heareth. "Hear, heav- 
en, and give ear, earth; for the Lord God omnipotent 
hath spoken." This expresses the true attitude of the 
soul. The highest province of human reason is to ac- 
quiesce with divine revelation. 

RIGHT METHODS OF BIBLE STUDY. 

There have been three dispensations in God's deal- 
ings with men. These are called Patriarchal, Jewish and 
Christian. Some one has practically called them the star- 
light, moonlight and sunlight ages. Parts of the Bible 
were for the patriarchs, other portions were for the Jews, 
and still other for Christians. This must be recognized, 
or the student will find confusion worse confounded. To 



THE CHARLESTON SEBMONS. 133 

apply to the Christian what peculiarly belonged to the 
Jew or to the patriarch is unreasonable, illogical and un- 
scriptural. 

In the study of the Bible we must bear in mind that 
fifteen hundred years were occupied in its production. 
We must not think it was all written at one time. We 
must also remember that nearly forty authors were in- 
volved in the work, and that these were far removed from 
one another by time and space. There was no possibility 
of them entering into a conspiracy to produce such a vol- 
ume, and yet the unity that pervades the work is mar- 
velous. Like the construction of Solomon^ s Temple, each 
part fits into its proper place and no stone of truth can be 
rejected. It must ever be remembered that each book has 
its own setting and its particular purpose, and its author 
preserves his individuality. Thus there is a great variety 
of style in these pages, and this lends charm to the work. 
The various parts were not intended alike for all persons. 
He who fails to recognize this fact is a blind leader of the 
blind, and what wonder if both fall into the ditch of 
error ! 

To sum up, the Bible was written by a great variety of 
persons, at a great variety of seasons, intended for a great 
variety of individuals and classes, and inspired with a 
great variety of purposes. Of course, there is one golden 
thread of purpose running through it — the development 
of the plan of salvation; and God is over all. 

The Bible has its divisions and their importance can 
not be overestimated. As in the geographical divisions 
of the earth we have hemispheres, continents, islands, prov- 
inces, states, etc., so in the Bible we have grand divisions 
and subdivisions. The grand divisions are two — Old and 
New Testaments. Testament means will, or covenant. 
We are living, not under the Old Will, but under the New. 



131 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

Moses was the mediator of the Old, and obedience to the 
law of Moses made a Jew, or Israelite. Jesus, the Christ, 
is the mediator of the New, and obedience to him makes 
a Christian — only that and nothing more. We are Chris- 
tians and governed by the law of the spirit of life in 
Christ Jesus. The study of the Old Testament is valuable 
for its history, moral precepts, character-portraits, prom- 
ises, types, shadows and prophecy; but it was not writ- 
ten to tell a sinner, under the Christian dispensation, how 
to be converted; nor to tell a Christian how to live. The 
New Testament is authority upon, these subjects. We can 
not dispense with the Old nor with the New. We can 
not understand the one without the other. The Old is 
the key that unlocks the treasures of the New, and the 
New proclaims the beauties of the Old. Augustine gives 
us a fine epigrammatic statement : "The Old Testament is 
the New Testament concealed ; and the New Testament is 
the Old Testament revealed." I rejoice that the Inter- 
national Sunday-school Committee divides the Sunday- 
school lessons equally between the Old and the New Testa- 
ments; and yet an intelligent teacher will not send a Chris- 
tian or a sinner to any part of the Old Testament to learn 
what God requires of him. We live under a newer and 
better law. Paul said that the law was our schoolmaster 
to bring us to Christ: but now that faith has come we 
are no longer under a schoolmaster. He says that which 
is old is ready to vanish away. It is always the last will 
or testament that is binding. When God made a new will 
the old vanished away. The church of Christ is a new 
institution. It is not the Jewish church remodeled, nor 
enlarged, nor extended. It is new as to its head and law- 
giver, new as to its spirit, new as to its conditions of ad- 
mission and membership, new in its promises and bless- 
ings, new in its territory, and new in its ordinances and 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 135 

worship. The greatest obstacles in the way of Paul and 
his co-workers were the Judaizing teachers, who crept into 
the churches and bound upon the brethren the law of 
Moses. As a law by which I am governed in becoming a 
Christian, in living a Christian, and by which I must 
be judged in the great day for which all other days are 
made, I am under the New Testament and not the Old. 
I am in the sunlight and not the moonlight or starlight. 
Now a few words as to the meaning of the various 
parts of the Bible. For a history of beginnings read Gene- 
sis. For the going out of Israel from the bondage of 
Egypt read Exodus. For a description of the priesthood 
go to Leviticus. For the census of Israel read Numbers. 
For the restatement of the law study Deuteronomy. For 
the conquest of Canaan read Joshua. Would you know 
the history of the Jews for four hundred years when they 
were without a divinely appointed leader, you can find it 
in Judges. Would you supply a link in the genealogy of 
Jesus, connecting him by blood to the Gentile world, read 
Ruth. Would you know the story of the Jews from the 
coronation of Saul until the restoration of the Jews from 
Babylon, read all the remaining historical books of the 
Old Testament. Would you know the philosophy of suf- 
fering, read Job. Do you want a text-book on prayer and 
praise, read Psalms. Do you need worldly wisdom or a 
business guide, read Proverbs. Would you know the van- 
ity of sensual pleasure, worldly wealth and golden ambi- 
tion, study Ecclesiastes. Prophecy is history written be- 
forehand. Would you have the life of Christ written 
hundreds of years before he was born, study the propheti- 
cal books. They speak of his birth, his lowly origin, 
his consecration, his beautiful life, his miracles, his suffer- 
ings and death, his resurrection and mediatorial reign. 
Would the sinner get faith in Christ? He should read 



136 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. To know how to be 
converted, he should go to Acts of Apostles. To learn 
how to live a faithful Christian life, the twenty-one Epis- 
tles are our guide. The last book of the Bible — Revela- 
tion — unveils the future and shows the final triumph of 
our Lord, and the glorious destiny of the church. Mil- 
ton had a splendid basis for his "Paradise Lost and 
Paradise Regained." The opening chapters of the Bible 
show how man fell, how he was driven out of paradise 
and away from the tree of life. The last chapter shows 
how he regains the tree of life and the city of God. 

"Oh, sweet Bible, I will hide thee, 

Hide thee richly in my heart; 
And thro' all my life thou'lt guide me, 

And in death we will not part. 
Part in death? No, never, never, 

Thro' death's vale I'll lean on thee; 
Then in worlds above, forever, 

Sweeter still thy truth shall be." 



FALSE VIEWS OF GOD. 

False views of God lead to false living. "Like gods, 
like people," is a very true saying. The man who is god- 
less in theory will be godless in life. Oh, the godless lives 
in the world ! It is enough to make the angels weep, if 
there were tears in heaven. 

Some say that we should spend no time in acquainting 
ourselves with God, and that it is enough to study man. 
The Greeks put so much stress upon self-knowledge that 
they inscribed upon the temple at Delphi the legend, 
"Know Thyself ." In his "Essay on Man," Alexander Pope 
has said: 



THE CHARLESTON SEBMONS. 137 

"Know thyself, presume not God to scan; 
The proper study of mankind is man;" 

but a greater than Alexander Pope has said, "This is life 
eternal: that they may know thee, the only true God, and 
Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent." When the lawyer 
asked our Lord which is the great commandment, Jesus 
said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, 
and with all thy mind, and with all thy soul, and with all 
thy strength." Thus the study of God and his attributes 
is all-important. We are exhorted in the Scriptures to be 
Godlike. How can we be like God if we do not become 
acquainted with him? Tell me your conception of God 
and I will tell you your character. If you have a lofty 
conception of God, you may live upon an exalted plane; 
but if your views of God are low and unworthy, your life 
will be low and gross. 

Polytheism taught that there were gods many and lords 
many. The baneful results of its teaching are known to 
every student of history. It has ever led to the debauch- 
ery of men, to the degradation of women, and often to the 
cruel torture and death of little children. Greece, in the 
palmiest days of her literature, philosophy and art, gave 
herself up to the worship of multiplied gods. It was said 
that gods in Athens were more numerous than men. 
At one time she worshiped thirty thousand deities. She 
worshiped the gods of lust, of war, of wine, and every 
base passion of the human soul had its deity. What the 
effect upon her people? When she worshiped the gods of 
lust, what wonder that woman was debased and made 
slave to all that was impure? There was not a word in 
their language to express chastity or personal purity. 
How could they have the name when they were without 
the thing signified? When they adored the gods of war 



138 SEEMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

was it not natural for them to "let loose the dogs of 
war," and glory in scenes of violence and bloodshed? Is 
it any wonder that they had feasts in which drunkenness 
and revelry ran riot, when they served the gods of wine ? 

Egypt had a hundred thousand gods. They worshiped 
the sun, moon and stars, the river Nile, their cattle, and 
even their leeks, onions and cabbages. Their immorality 
is known to everv student of historv. It could not be 
otherwise. A stream can not rise higher than its fountain. 

In India to-day the people have two hundred and forty 
thousand gods. The grossest sins prevail, home life is un- 
known, the birth cf a girl is esteemed a misfortune, and 
there are six hundred thousand widows under twelve } T ears 
of age. 

So much for polytheism. 

Pantheism is a false view of God. It teaches that God 
is nature and nature is God. It teaches that all plant and 
animal life, and even the mineral world, are but mani- 
festations of God — parts of God. It is supreme folly and 
pernicious in its effect upon its devotees. There would 
be as much reason or sense in saying that a man and his 
house are the same — that the man is a part of the house 
and the house is a part of the man ! This senseless phi- 
losophy ought to be called foolosophy. 

Fatalism must fall under our condemnation also. It 
would have us believe that after God created all things and 
set the universe in motion, he then withdrew behind the 
scenes and no longer exercises supervision over his works. 
Everything now is governed by fixed law. Man can only 
act as he is acted upon. Many are the evil consequences 
of such teaching. There is no special providence; God 
does not hear and answer prayer; man is only a machine; 
there is no such thing as human responsibility ; no one can 
think, speak or act otherwise than he does. Those who 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 139 

can get comfort from such fatalism may do so ; but I will 
have none of it. The chief glory of man is his responsi- 
bility for his thoughts, words and actions. It differentiates 
him from the brute. When Daniel Webster was asked 
as to the greatest thought that was ever presented to his 
mind he said : "The greatest thought ever presented to my 
mind, is the thought of God and my personal responsi- 
bility to him/' This was an answer worthy of the great 
man that he was. 

That theology which would clothe God with all love 
and strip him of all justice is false. It is simply senti- 
mentalism. Justice and right demand that he must re- 
ward the good and punish the wicked. In its teaching 
the Bible presents a perfect antithesis. It sets God over 
against the devil, heaven against hell, truth against error, 
happiness against misery and reward against punishment. 

That theology is false which teaches that God was 
angry with man, and that nothing short of the cruel death 
of Jesus upon the cross could propitiate him; and that 
even now men must groan and agonize and torture them- 
selves in order to make God willing to save them. This 
is heathenism. Dr. Thomas, of Chicago, rightly called it 
"the butcher theory of the atonement;" but off went his 
theological head for saying so ! God loved man just as 
much before Jesus died as he did afterwards. "God so 
loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son." 
Jesus died, not to propitiate an angry Deity, but to win 
the heart of man to God. God is ready, willing and 
anxious to save whenever we are ready, willing and anxious 
to be saved. 

"Whosoever will may come and take of the water of 
life freely/ 



» 



140 SEBMOXS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 



THE BIRTH OF CHRIST AND WHAT IT MEANS TO 

THE WORLD. 

There have been great epoch-making events in his- 
tory. When Abraham was called away from an idolatrous 
people to become the head of a monotheistic nation, it 
marked a great epoch in the history of the world. When 
Moses received the law from God, it shaped the destiny 
of millions of men and women. When the monk of Wit- 
tenberg, Martin Luther, read the Bible as it was chained 
in the convent, and came upon the doctrine of justification 
by faith as opposed to works of supererogation, he kindled 
a flame that spread all over Germany, was communicated 
to other European states, and was wafted across the seas 
to this Xew World. It meant that the people should be 
free, and that everybody might read the Bible in his 
own language. It was a staggering blow to kingcraft and 
priestcraft. No one can ever know how much of civil and 
religious liberty we owe to that Catholic monk. I believe 
him to be the greatest uninspired man the world has pro- 
duced. When Columbus sailed in a westerly course and 
discovered this continent it was an event followed with 
momentous results. 

But the greatest epoch-making event in all time and 
for all eternity was the birth of the Babe of Bethlehem. 
It is the event that gives purpose to all the others and 
made them possible. Of obscure origin, born in poverty, 
lacking in the prestige afforded by learning, wealth and 
social position, he has influenced the world more than any 
other and all others combined. Upon the infidel hypoth- 
esis this can not be accounted for or explained, but ad- 
mitting his claims to divinity, all becomes easy. We call 
attention to some of the results of his birth. 

The birth of Christ so revolutionized the world that 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 141 

he changed the dates of all civilized nations. Did you 
write a letter yesterday or execute a business document 
3'ou wrote the figures 1908, and in doing so you set up a 
monument to Jesus' birth. The great events in Jesus' 
life are celebrated in monument. This morning we ob- 
served the Lord's Supper. It is a monument to Jesus' 
death. This first day of the week, which largely stops 
the wheels of the commercial world, is a monumental day, 
celebrating the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. Bap- 
tism, which will follow this sermon this evening, is a 
monument of double significance. It commemorates both 
the burial and resurrection of Jesus, for the candidate 
sinks beneath the waters and is raised from under them. 
So, also, when I write 1908 I commemorate the birth of 
my Lord. Thus even infidels and agnostics are compelled 
to bear witness to Christ ! 

The birth of Jesus meant the destruction of polygamy. 
Previous to his birth it was practiced in every nation. It 
was a stain upon Jewish history. Abraham, Jacob, David 
and Solomon violated God's law of marriage — one man 
should be the husband of one wife — and they brought 
untold miseries upon themselves and upon their people 
because of their shameless acts. I rejoice that wherever 
the religion of Jesus becomes deeply rooted, polygamy 
has to go, and the sacredness of marriage and the home 
is safeguarded. 

The birth of Jesus means the destruction of caste and 
the brotherhood of humanity. It is his purpose to take 
away all middle walls of partition, and to obliterate all 
lines of caste and distinction. "God so loved the world 
that he gave his Son." Not a part of the world, but all 
the world. Fleetwood truly said, "Jesus came to the 
world with the grandest purpose that was ever formed, that 
of saving from sin and death the whole world of man- 



142 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

kind/ 5 Peter declared in the presence of the first con- 
verts to the Christian religion from among the Gentiles, 
"I perceive of a truth that God is no respecter of persons." 
Paul, on Mars Hill, said, "God has made of one blood all 
the nations that dwell upon all the face of the earth," and, 
in writing to the Corinthians, he declares that it is God's 
wish that there should be neither Jew nor Greek, bond 
nor free, male nor female, so far as the common blessings 
of our common humanity are concerned. If all men would 
be true to the Babe of Bethlehem, the universal Father- 
hood of God and the universal brotherhood of man would 
be assured facts. God respects not persons, but character. 

The birth of Jesus was the emancipation proclamation 
to woman. Before that woman had few privileges, and no 
rights that men felt bound to respect. Sometimes infidels 
remark that Christianity will do for woman. Well, it 
is not strange that woman was true to Jesus while he 
was in the world; that she was last at the cross, first at 
the open sepulchre, and first to proclaim the glad news of 
his resurrection; nor is it a matter of wonder that she is 
true to him to-day. The only wonder is that all women 
do not become Christian. They owe all that is good and 
true and beautiful in their lives to the Nazarene. "Tell 
me, lad}'," said an infidel to a woman in my capital city, 
"why it is that the great majority of church-members are 
women ?" There was a sneer in his tones. "I will answer 
you with another question," she replied. "Why are nearly 
all over yonder in the State's prison men?" That spiked 
his guns. He had no more to say. 

The birth of Jesus meant hope to the world instead of 
despair; joy instead of sorrow; beauty for ashes, and it 
strips death and the grave of much of their terrors. I 
would not exchange my life in Christ for ten thousand 
worlds like this. 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 143 

NO ROOM FOR JESUS. 

Augustus, the reigning emperor, issued a decree that 
all the world should be taxed. The people were required 
to go to their respective cities for registration. Bethle- 
hem was the city of Joseph and Mary. It was the city of 
David, and they belonged to the house of David. Mary 
was great with child; but she went with Joseph, and, 
while in Bethlehem, Jesus was born. People came up to 
the town in great numbers, and as a result the inn, or 
hotel, was crowded, and there was absolutely no room for 
this family. 

We have no words of censure for this hotel-keeper. 
He was in no way to blame because he turned Joseph and 
Mary away. I simply introduce the incident because these 
words were really descriptive of the whole life of our Lord 
on earth. He was despised and rejected of men. They 
saw no beauty in him that they should desire him. To 
them he was without form and comeliness, and like a root 
out of dry ground. He was led as a sheep to the slaughter. 
It all seems strange, very strange, to us now. We, who 
see in him the only perfect One, the fairest among ten 
thousand and the one altogether lovely, find it difficult to 
understand that they had no room for him, and yet there 
are thousands who reject him now. Let us see who re- 
jected him and why they did so. 

Herod had no room for the Babe of Bethlehem and 
issued his bloody decree for the slaughter of the innocent, 
thinking thereby to compass the death of Jesus. He was 
capable of such an atrocious act. This is the man who 
slaughtered his own children because of his jealousy. He 
feared they would dethrone him and enthrone themselves. 
He murdered his beautiful wife, Mariamne, for the same 
insane reason and now his jealousy moves him to decree 



144 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

the death of all the male children, two years old and under, 
in and about Bethlehem, that he might get rid of another 
supposed competitor. The whole history of the Herodic 
dynasty is one of bloodshed, cruelty and most atrocious 
deeds. It is enough to curdle the blood of all humane 
people. 

The grossly materialistic multitudes had no room for 
Jesus after he ceased to minister to their bodies. So long 
as he fed the hungry, healed their sick, raised their dead 
and conferred other physical blessings upon them they 
were his enthusiastic devotees. Thousands of men, women 
and children thronged about him and seemed to be his 
loyal friends. They were not so. They followed him for 
the loaves and fishes, and he charged this upon them. 
The sequel confirms the truth of his words. The moment 
he preached a profoundly spiritual sermon, told them that 
he was the bread of life, and unless they should eat of 
his flesh and drink of his blood there was no life in them, 
they became offended, and from that time many of his pro- 
fessed disciples went back and followed no more after 
him, and, in the extreme loneliness of his heart, he turned 
to the little band who were loft and said, "Will ye also go 
away?" Materialism and Christianity do not harmonize. 

The votaries of wealth had no room for Jesus. He 
taught that it is impossible for a rich man — one who wor- 
ships his riches — to go to heaven; and that it is easier 
for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a man 
who worships the almighty dollar rather than the almighty 
Father to be saved. Jesus did not teach that poverty is 
a virtue, or that the possession of wealth is a crime; but 
he warned men against wrong methods of money-getting 
and against the wrong uses of wealth, and such admoni- 
tions are needed in every age. He did teach that a Lazarus 
lying helpless at the rich man's gate, covered with sores 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 145 

and licked by the dogs, might be infinitely more a saint 
than the man who refused him the crumbs that fell from 
his table. The rich young ruler, who came running to 
Jesus, and proudly boasted of his goodness, went away sor- 
rowing when he was told to go and sell his possessions, 
give them to the poor and follow Jesus. He was very 
rich and his heart was greatly set upon his wealth. Jesus 
could not tap the fountain of benevolence in him. 

The two great sects among the Jews had no room for 
Jesus — the Sadducees and the Pharisees. 

It is not hard to understand why the Sadducees would 
reject him, if we acquaint ourselves with their teaching. 
They were materialistic. There were just three articles in 
their creed and these were negative. All infidelity is nega- 
tive. It is the absence of truth, even as darkness is the 
absence of light. It always denies; it never affirms. It 
destroys; it never constructs. In their three negative ar- 
ticles the Sadducees denied the existence of spirit, of an- 
gels and the resurrection of the dead. Jesus put especial 
emphasis upon all these, and thus antagonized all their 
teachings and theories. Agreement with them was impos- 
sible. 

And we can also readily understand why the Pharisees 
despised and rejected him. They were ever running after 
the spectacular in religion. They were clerical in their 
dress. They made much ado about form and ceremony. 
They prayed to be heard of men and gave to be seen of 
men. They appeared to men to fast, but there was no soul 
humiliation. They advertised their sanctimoniousness to 
the world. They wore long faces. They made great pre- 
tence of religion, but neglected justice, mercy and truth. 
They made long and loud prayers and then devoured 
widows' houses. They claimed to be the religious guides 
of the people and then preyed upon them like vultures. 



146 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

They scrupulously washed their hands, but kept their 
hearts corrupt. As Mr. Moody used to say, "They had 
the profession without the possession." Now, for all this 
our blessed Saviour denounced them in most scathing 
terms, calling them unclean platters and whited sepul- 
chres. He everywhere exposed their formalism and hypoc- 
risy, and for this they hated him with the very refinement 
of hatred. He told them that the miserable publican who 
felt his unworthiness and begged for pardon was vastly 
better than the self-righteous Pharisee, who thanked God 
that he was not like other men. 

The gay belles of fashion and the fastidious society 
men could not endure Jesus, whose visage was marred by 
sorrow, whose clothing was not conventional, whose pedi- 
gree was of Vac lowly and obscure, and who was so poor 
that though the foxes had holes and the birds had nests, 
he had no place that he could call home. Had he been 
clothed in purple and fine linen; had he dined at rich 
men's tables; had he fawned upon kings and princes; had 
he truckled to the priests and scribes and had he flattered 
the politicians, he would have been "hail fellow well met" 
with the "sassiety" people, as Sam Jones called them. 
The worldly Pharisee was much scandalized when Jesus 
reclined at his table and permitted a fallen woman to 
wash his feet with her bitter tears and wipe them with the 
hairs of her head. 

Pilate had no room for Jesus, because he was a typical 
politician and courted favor with the infuriated mob. He 
was governed by policy and not by principle. He per- 
petrated the stupendous farce of the ages, when he pro- 
fessed to wash his hands in innocency of Jesus' blood, and 
then scourged him and turned him over to his deadly ene- 
mies to be crucified. 

Judas had no room for his Lord, because he was of- 



THE CHARLESTON SEEMONS. 147 



fered and accepted blood money. He betrayed his Master 
with a kiss and sold him for silver. 

The priests had no use for him because they were cor- 
rupt. They served God for gain, and turned the house of 
prayer into a den of thieves. He drove them out with a 
scourge of small cords, and for this they despised him. 

Have we room for Jesus? Will he make room in 
heaven for us ? He can not unless we first make room for 
him. Heaven is a prepared place for the Lord's prepared 
people. Only by making large room for him in our hearts 
can we find room in heaven. Without preparations heaven 
would be too much of a surprise to us. We would not be 
more at home than a pig in a parlor or a drunkard in a 
temperance meeting. God can not make a valley without 
a hill, nor can he save a man against his will. Make room 
for him now. He knocks at the door of your heart. Oh, 
let him in. 

We are all ready to condemn Herod and Pilate, and 
Judas and the priests, and the votaries of predatory wealth, 
and the Pharisees and the Sadducees for rejecting Jesus, 
but what is our attitude towards him to-day? In con- 
demning them do we condemn ourselves? I believe in 
taking first-century Christianity and applying to twenti- 
eth-century civilization. Have we room for Jesus in home 
life, social life, business life and in political life? 

Do we make room for Jesus in the home? Every 
home should begin with three persons — bride and groom 
and God. There is no sadder thing to contemplate than 
a godless home. I very seriously doubt the right of any 
man to establish home and family without God and relig- 
ion. "What does that mean?" said a boy of an infidel 
family when he witnessed family devotions in a Christian 
home. "We were worshiping God," was the reply. Then 
said the boy: "We have no God in our home." Oh, the 



148 SEEMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

godless homes all about us to-day! They have no room 
for Jesus. Like the hog which crunches the acorns with 
grunts of satisfaction, but never looks to see from whence 
they fall, so these godless homes enjoy the blessings of 
God with no feeling of gratitude and no act of service. 
Some hogs go on two legs ! Paul commended Timothy 
because he had known the Holy Scriptures from his youth, 
and exhorted him to remember the faith that was in his 
grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice. It was a 
splendid thing for the } r oung man that he could look back 
through generations of faith and fidelity to God. It is a 
splendid thing to be well born. Oliver Wendell Holmes 
meant this, doubtless, when he said that the culture of 
the child should begin a hundred years before its birth. 
Often the man puts all his religion into his wife's name 
and throws upon her shoulders the religious training of 
his children. This is cowardly. Here, more than in any- 
thing else, she needs his help and sympathy, and God lays 
the obligation upon both alike. 

Have we room for Jesus in social life? In the selec- 
tion of our friends and associates, in the amusements of 
life, in courtship and marriage, do we take him into the 
account at all? As well think of handling stove-coal with- 
out being blacked, or wrestling with a chimney-sweep with- 
out being smutted, as to surround ourselves with the 
worldly, the unbelieving, the vulgar and the impure, and 
keep our hearts and lives clean. A man is like the com- 
pany he keeps. "Birds of a feather flock together." Tell 
me the character of your voluntary associations, and I 
will tell you what is your own character. A stream can 
not rise above its fountain. "Evil communications cor- 
rupt good manners." Take Jesus with you and all will be 
well. This will solve the vexed question of amusements. 
If you can take Jesus with you to the card-table, the dance- 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 149 

hall, the theater and the saloon, and ask him to share your 
pleasure and pronounce his blessing, then go on with your 
card-playing, drinking and dancing. But you know you 
can not ask his blessing. You would choke if you should 
attempt it. 

Have we room for Jesus in business? No matter how 
well a man may sing, nor how voluble he may be in prayer, 
nor how eloquently he prays, nor how munificently he 
gives, it will all count for nothing if he is not strictly hon- 
est in all his dealings. He must be "at par" in all his 
transactions. He must be worth one hundred cents on the 
dollar in all his obligations, unless misfortune overtakes 
him through no fault of his, and even then he must do all 
he can to satisfy his creditors. The man who puts big 
potatoes in the top of his sack and little ones in the 
bottom will go to the place that has no bottom — the bot- 
tomless pit. The fruit-dealer who puts good fruit in the 
top of his basket and rotten in the bottom will go to hell 
unless he speedily repents. The man who gets money by 
betting and gambling sells his soul to the devil. Far bet- 
ter for a man to have a millstone about his neck and be 
drowned in the depth of the sea than to get a dollar into 
his pocket by any sort of dishonest practice. The most 
■universally loathed and despised man on earth to-day is 
John D. Rockefeller; not because he is rich, but because 
he is a human vampire, and has crushed all his com- 
petitors to the wall. I would rather be a dog and bay the 
moon than to be a Rockefeller. When fewer than thirty 
thousand people own the bulk of the wealth of eighty mil- 
lions of people we know that it is a condition made pos- 
sible only by trickery and chicanery. Paul says, "Pro- 
vide things honest in the sight of all men." God wants 
tall men, sun-crowned; men whose feet are on the earth 
and heads above the clouds. 



150 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

Have we room for Jesus in our politics ? "Oh," I think 
I hear you say, "you must not bring politics into religion." 
I shall not attempt that. We have always had too much 
politics in religion. That accounts for so much municipal 
and national corruption. My aim is to bring as much 
religion as possible into politics. Do you see no difference 
between politics in religion and religion in politics ? There 
is very much difference. Do you see any difference be- 
tween water in a ship and a ship in water? A man should 
vote just as religiously as he pra3 r s. If he prays for tem- 
perance on Sunday he should vote against the dispensary 
(saloon) on Tuesday, when the polls open. If he prays 
for civic righteousness he should vote for righteous and 
God-fearing rulers. If he finds bad men and measures 
on his ticket he should scratch and scratch and scratch 
until they go to the old scratch! You may be called a 
mugwump for doing so; but it were better to be a mug- 
wump than a jugwump. A mugwump is an independent 
voter and the independent voters are the hope of this na- 
tion. Take Jesus with you to the polls. 

To conclude, make room for Jesus in the heart. He 
wants a large place there. He stands at the door and 
knocks for admission. Oh, let him in ! He will bring you 
untold blessings. If you refuse him you treat him worse 
than I would a tramp. Make room for him in the heart 
and it solves all the other questions; for if you give him 
heart room he will have home room, social room, business 
room and political room. Best of all, he will make abun- 
dant room for you in heaven. 



THE CHAKLESTON SERMONS. 151 



THE EARLY CONSECRATION OF JESUS. 

"As the twig is bent the tree is inclined." While I do 
not believe in infant baptism, christening and the like, yet 
the child should be taught and cultured and trained from 
its infancy, and the very moment it reaches the age of re- 
sponsibility 7 it should be advised to render obedience to 
Christ. He loved children and they should be urged to 
obey him. They must render obedience themselves. God 
authorizes no obedience by proxy. The parent can not 
obey for the child. Every act of religion must be a free, 
untrammeled act of his own. 

Jesus in his child life affords us a brilliant illustration 
of early culture and consecration. It is said of him when 
yet a child that "he grew in wisdom and in stature and in 
favor with God and man." This is culture beautiful, thor- 
ough and rounded up in its completeness. I like to think 
of Jesus as a man. He is the God-man. He blends in him- 
self perfect divinity and perfect humanity. He is as human 
as Mary, his mother, and as divine as God, his Father. 
On the human side of his nature he came up through all 
the stages common to man — conception, birth, infancy, 
childhood, boyhood, early manhood and maturity. He 
thus shows his kinship to our race and teaches us what 
proper development is. Man is a trinity — one in three 
and three in one. He is bodv, mind and heart or moral 
nature. Jesus in his development comprehended all these. 
When it is said of him that he grew in stature, that had 
reference to the body. I like to think of him possessing 
a perfect physical organism. And no one is properly 
cultured who neglects the care of the body. 

Shun the culture that omits the moral and spiritual. 
Jesus "grew in favor with God and man." That is moral 



152 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

and spiritual growth. The whole life of Jesus teaches the 
world that goodness is greatness. All may be great in 
God's sight because all may be good. The man with 
jumper and overalls, wielding pick and shovel, may be 
one of God's kings, if, despite his lowly surroundings, he 
preserves integrity of life and faith in almighty God. The 
kitchen maid is just as much a queen as the bejeweled 
mistress she serves if she keeps her heart attuned to God 
and heaven. Better that your child grow up in abject 
ignorance and possess a good heart than to have brilliant 
culture in the "rudiments of this world" and have a bad 
heart. 

When Jesus was but twelve j T ears old he was found 
by his mother sitting among the rabbis and answering 
their questions, and when his mother gently rebuked him 
because he had slipped away from her he said, "Know 
ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" 
This seemed to be the governing motto of his life and it 
characterized him from his youth up. 

There is' every reason for early religious culture. If 
one does not become a Christian earty the chances are that 
he never will do so. When habits of sin are formed they 
are hard to abandon. When truth is long resisted the 
finer sensibilities become blunted and often deadened. 
When the heart is filled with the cares of life, the pleas- 
ures of sin and the deceitfulness of riches it is hard to 
make room for God. The vast majority of church-mem- 
bers in the Protestant world become such between the 
early years of eight and twenty. Not one in five hundred 
after he is sixty years old. The mind of the child can 
not be left unbiased. He will be biased upon the side of 
God or for the devil. Par better that you lead him to 
God. Should he become a Christian when old we rejoice; 
but it is on his own account. We look upon him as a 



THE CHARLESTON SESSIONS. 153 

brand plucked from the burning. In the very nature of 
the case his day of opportunity is largely gone. He can 
not be of much service to the church. And think of the 
deep regrets which must fill his heart after conversion 
because he robbed himself of so many years of joy, society 
of so much influence for good and God of so much honor. 
The bird with the broken pinion may be healed and it may 
sing its old song again; but it can never again soar so 
high. So he who may have been so long a slave to sin 
may be converted ; but he can never rise to such heights of 
Christian attainment and sanctification as he could have 
reached had he come early to the Saviour. 

"Remember now thy Creator" is an admonition ever, 
appropriate to all classes; but "in the days of thy youth" 
is very much better. 

Said an old man, who put off his conversion until he 
was more than threescore and ten: "I seem to myself 
like the incorrigible boy I read about in my childhood. 
His father at last said to him, 'My son, I wish you would 
drive a nail into a post every time you do a bad act, and 
draw one out when you do something good/ The boy 
agreed to the arrangement. After a few days the father 
asked him how he was getting along. The boy told him 
that the post was full of nails ! The father begged him 
to make another effort. To this the boy consented. After 
a time he told his father that the nails were all drawn out. 
The father began to praise him. 'Don't praise me, 
father/ said the boy, 'for the telltale prints of the nails 
are all there/ 'So/ said the old man, 'I know that I 
am saved, and I am happy in Him; but the prints of my 
life through all my sinful years are manifest in my 
family and in the community." 

God speaks to you, my young friend, and tenderly says, 
"My son, give me thine heart." Heed the call now. 



154 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 



THE THOROUGH CONSECRATION OF JESUS. 

God wants no half-hearted service. Jesus teaches that 
no man can serve two masters; we can not serve God and 
mammon. A man must not try to carry the world upon 
one shoulder and the church upon the other. Jesus not 
only emphasizes this truth, but his whole earthly ministry 
was an illustration of it. He said: "I came not to do 
my own will, but the will of him that sent me." And 
again: "It is my meat and my drink to do my Father's 
will." He subsisted upon that. It was his daily food. 
And yet again : "If I do not the works of my Father, 
believe me not." Thus his motto when twelve years old, 
"I must be about my Father's business," found its appli- 
cation in all his after life. Though often footsore and 
heart-weary, yet he always went about doing good. He 
did not consult personal ease. If he went aside to rest, 
he found no rest, for the multitudes followed him with 
their sick and halt and blind, and he at once forgot him- 
self and ministered to them. He ever labored to bring 
help and gladness to others. In the words of a modern 
poet, he was "a friend to man." 

"There are hermit souls who live withdrawn, 

In the place of their self -content ; 
There are souls like stars that shine apart, 

In a fellowless firmament. 
There are pioneer souls that blaze the path 

Where highway never ran; 
But let me live by the side of the road, 

And be a friend to man. 

"Let me live in a house by the side of the road, 
Where the race of men go by; 
The men who are good and the men who are bad, 
As good and as bad as I. 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 155 

And let me not sit in the cynic's seat, 

Nor hurl the cynic's ban; 
But let me live by the side of the road, 

And be a friend to man. 

"I see from my house by the side of the road, 

By the side of the highway of life, 
The men led on by the ardor of hope, 

The men who are faint with the strife. 
Then let me not scorn their smiles or their tears, 

Both parts of an infinite plan; 
But let me live by the side of the road, 

And be a friend to man." 

Jesus was not a "hermit soul," nor did he shine in 
"a fellowless firmament." lie went where the crowds 
were. If he were here to-day, he would not shut himself 
up in cloisters, convents and monasteries. His com- 
mand to his people is to "go into all the world;" not to 
retire from the world. If he were here to-day, he would 
"live in a house by the side of the road," and show himself 
a friend to man. 

Jesus in his whole life shows his thorough consecration, 
but I call attention to two illustrious incidents — his bap- 
tism and his experience in Gethsemane. He demanded 
baptism of John the Baptist, and wdien John forbade him 
he said: "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us 
to fulfil all righteousness." These words ought to be 
stamped indelibly upon our hearts. And if we would get 
the full force of his example, we must remember that he 
traveled at least seventy miles over one of the most rugged, 
dangerous roads, and for no other reason than to be bap- 
tized. That he came to the preacher and demanded bap- 
tism is also worthy of note. The preacher did not find 
it necessary to plead with him to do his duty, as is now 
often the case. 



156 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

In Gethsemane Jesus fought the great battle and won 
the great victory of his life. He suffered afterward upon 
the cross, but it was largely the suffering of the body. 
This is not to be compared with heart agony. Under the 
olive-trees he suffered anguish of the soul. He groaned 
and agonized until great drops of blood stood out upon 
his brow. He prayed that, if it were possible, the cup 
of suffering for the sins of humanity might pass. Three 
times he prayed and three times he triumphed. Three 
times he said, "Not my will, but thine, be done/' Such 
was his consecration, and such the infinite depths of his 
love to man. It should inspire us to sing: 

"Were the whole realm of nature mine, 
It were a present far too small; 
Love so amazing, so divine, 

Demands my soul, my life, my all." 

THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS. 

This temptation followed very closely upon the bap- 
tism of Jesus. This is the devil's tactics. As the most 
critical time in the life of man is the first years of in- 
fancy and childhood, so the most critical time in the life 
of a Christian follows closely upon his conversion. If we 
can tide him over this period, he is apt to grow up into 
a strong Christian character. Satan will do all he can 
to ensnare the feet of the young disciple. How careful 
and watchful should the church be, and how tenderly it 
should guard the interests of the young Christian. 

This temptation of Jesus came from the devil. The 
enticement to evil comes from his Satanic majesty. Many 
things are charged upon God that do not belong to him. 
Some men blame God with their crookedness. The Bible 
teaches that God can not be tempted of evil, neither tempt- 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 157 

eth he any man. The devil is at the bottom of all the 
sin in this world. 

Do I believe in the devil ? I do not believe in him, 
but I do believe about him. I believe there is a personal 
devil, just as I believe there is a personal God. I believe 
in God, but I have no faith in the devil. Here is a dis- 
tinction with a difference. It is quite common nowadays 
to try to figure away the idea of the devil and hell; but 
by the same process we might get rid of God and heaven. 
Those who fear the devil and hell are those who are fol- 
lowing the deviPs mandates, and they will have to reckon 
with both, unless they do deeply and thoroughly repent of 
their sins. 

In this temptation scene the generals of two great 
armies meet in conflict — the armies of the good and the 
bad. It was a question of supremacy. It had to be settled 
and Jesus settled it for all time. The devil thought he 
had a mortgage on this world and he would foreclose it. 
Jesus was to teach him otherwise. 

In his temptation Jesus was tried in all points as we 
are. He was tempted to gratify his appetite at the sug- 
gestion of Satan. "If thou be the Son of God, command 
that these stones be made bread." Jesus could have done 
this. He said to the multitudes at John's baptism, "God 
is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham/' 
He who afterward so multiplied a few loaves and fishes 
that five thousand men were fed could have transformed 
the stones into bread. It was not a question of power, but 
of right. He was hungry, but he would do nothing at 
the suggestion of the devil. What an example for us! 
How many thousands to-day are gratifying appetite at 
the instigation of the devil! Hark! What is that I 
hear ? Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys and men are march- 
ing down, down, down to ruin and death, and to drunk- 



158 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

ards' graves, where they lie unhonored and unsung. All 
these are victims of appetite, and all this at the instiga- 
tion of the devil. In this country alone one hundred thou- 

«/ 

sand men drop into hell every j T ear as the victims of 
strong drink. 

Jesus was tempted to commit the sin of presumption. 
"If thou be the Son of God, cast thvself clown." Jesus 
refused to do it. "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy 
God." He would not needlessly presume upon his heav- 
enly Father's care. Here, again, is a most worthy ex- 
ample. I believe that God. cares for us and preserves our 
lives. I believe this with all my heart; but I must not 
abuse this trust. He cares for me, but if I thrust my hand 
into the fire he will let it burn. If I should remain too 
long under water, lie w r ill let me drown. If I drink car- 
bolic acid, or send, a bullet crashing through my brain, God 
will not prevent death. I must trust God; but I must 
also obey his laws of nature and grace. 

Jesus was tempted to worship Satan for the wealth 
and glory of this world. Again he resisted. "Thou shalt 
worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou 
serve." Then the devil left him and the angels came and 
fed him. Oh that men to-day would worship and serve 
God ! Then would they escape the wiles of the devil and 
be the object of angelic ministrations. But how many are 
bowing down and worshiping the devil to-day, not for 
all the wealth of the world, but for a small portion of it. 
Better far that you follow Jesus and say, "Get thee behind 
me, Satan." Better far that you shun all wrong methods 
of money-getting and follow the old-fashioned way of in- 
dustry, frugality and economy. 

Christ vanquished Satan in every encounter. He 
wielded one weapon. It was the word of God. This is 
the sword of the Spirit. It is sharper than any two- 



THE CHABLESTON SERMONS. 159 

edged sword. In every temptation lie said, "It is writ- 
ten." Thus may we conquer. If tempted to indulge in 
smutty language, say, "It is written, A word fitly 
spoken is like apples of gold in a basket of silver." If 
tempted to get money in any wrong way, say "It is writ- 
ten, Provide things honest in the sight of all men." If 
tempted to violate chastity, say, "It is written, Keep thyself 
pure." If tempted to drink wine or other strong drink, 
say, "It is written, Wine is a mocker and strong drink is 
raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." 
If tempted to run a saloon or dispensary, sa3 r , "It is writ- 
ten, Woe unto him who puts the bottle to his neighbor's 
lips and makes him drunken." If tempted to vote for 
saloons for revenue, say, "It is w r ritten, Woe unto him who 
would build a city with the price of blood or establish it 
with the price of iniquity." If tempted to put off con- 
version, say, "It is written, Xow is the accepted time." 
Thus you may run the whole gamut of sin and crime 
and there will always be an appropriate passage in the' 
Holy Scriptures condemning it. Keep the sword un- 
sheathed. Keep it bright with use. Hold it daily in your 
hand. Follow in the footsteps of Jesus. 

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. 

The worst of all physical maladies is blindness. That 
a man should spend all his life deprived of sunlight, of 
seeing the beauties of nature, and of looking into the eyes 
and faces of his nearest and clearest friends is a great 
privation. But there is a blindness infinitely worse — the 
blindness of the soul. Physical blindness is only of this 
world and for a few years; but spiritual blindness involves 
the world that is now and the one that is to come. Physi- 
cal blindness is temporal, but spiritual is eternal. As 



160 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

the soul is of more value than the body, so its blindness 
is worse than that of the body. 

Three things are necessary to the reception and en- 
joyment of physical light, and God has graciously met all 
the conditions. These are a light source, a medium for 
the transmission of light, and the power upon the part of 
man to appropriate and enjoy it. The sun is the center 
of our solar system and the source of light. The ether 
and atmosphere is the medium through which the light 
comes, and the eye enables man to receive the light. 

There is a perfect analogy between things natural and 
spiritual here, and three things are necessary to the re- 
ception and enjoyment of spiritual light. Here, also, 
there must be a source of light, a medium for its trans- 
mission, and we must have the ability to receive it. I 
believe all these conditions are graciously provided by our 
heavenly Father. 

What, or who, is the light source? Malachi, by the 
Holy Spirit, foretold the coming of Christ, and he called 
him "the sun of righteousness with healing in his wings/' 
How beautiful the figure and how true! As the literal 
sun brings light and warmth and beauty to this old world, 
so Jesus the Christ has illuminated the hearts and lives 
of men. 

John says: "In him is life, and the life is the light 
of men." Christ in us is the hope of glory, and the re- 
production of the Christ life and character in the life 
of man floods his soul with the very light and glory of 
heaven. How we rejoice in these precious truths ! Jesus 
plainly says: "I am the light of the world." 

What is the medium through which the light of Christ 
comes to us? The Scriptures are clear on this point also. 
Isaiah says: "To the law and to the testimony. If any 
man speak not according to this word, there is no light 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 161 

in him." From this passage it is clear that the light 
comes through the word of God. David adds his testi- 
mony. He says : "The entrance of thy word giveth light." 
And again: "Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light 
to my pathway." Jesus says: "The seed of the kingdom 
is the word of God." When he wanted to enlighten the 
whole world he said to his disciples: "Go ye into all the 
world and preach the gospel to every creature." 

Has man the power to receive the light? Most as- 
suredly. Whenever the gospel is preached, if men do not 
receive the light they are to blame. If they are lost, they 
can not blame God for their damnation. It must be be- 
cause of the perversity and stubbornness of their own 
wills. Jesus said of the Jews that God had given them 
eyes and ears and hearts — three avenues to the soul for 
the admission of light. 

Why do men refuse the light? Jesus tells us. He 
knows what is in man. He says: "Men love darkness 
rather than light because their deeds are evil." Thus he 
lays the ax at the root of the tree. Not until men are 
willing to give up their pet sins and follies and endure 
the wholesome restraints of religion will they accept the 
light. 

Would that all men would come to the light ! What a 
blessed thing to walk in the light! We are all upon a 
journey. We are pilgrims for a little while. This earth 
is not our home. Our citizenship is in heaven. Some- 
times our road is over plains of peace or through valleys 
of blessing, but at other times we reach the foot-hills of 
difficulty and trouble. Sometimes we reach mountains of 
temptation and perplexity. At other times there are deep, 
yawning canyons of distress and sorrow. Sometimes we 
plunge into awful tunnels of heartaches and bereavement. 
Happy for us amid all these darkened hours of life if we 



162 SEEMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

can hear the voice of Jesus saying, "Don't be afraid. There 
is light beyond." 

The church is the light of the world. When Jesus 
preached his memorable "Sermon on the Mount" — a ser- 
mon that called forth the admiration of both infidels and 
Christians — he said to his disciples, "Ye are the light of 
the world. . . . Let your light so shine before men that 
they may see your good works, and glorify your Father 
which is in heaven." Thus he commissioned his people to 
be light-bearers. Other Scriptures teach the same blessed 
truth, and we glory in it. We know the church has its 
faults. There are spots upon its robes. Too often the 
church has been guilty of fornication. With feelings of 
shame we confess all this; but still we can say of the 
church, "With all her faults we love her still." She is 
the light of the world and the hope of the nation. She is 
the conservator of the highest and best interest of hu- 
manity. She goes in the vanguard of every movement for 
moral and" religious reform. Men say sometimes, "We 
want Christianity, but not churchianity." What would 
you know about the one were it not for the other? It is 
the sheerest folly to talk in that waj r . 

In what sense is the church the light of the world?, 
Certainly not in a primary sense. It has no light of its 
own. No power has ever been delegated to it to enact 
laws and institute ordinances and try to bind these upon 
the consciences of men. Nothing of a legislative kind be- 
longs to the church. It is not a democracy nor yet a 
republic. Neither is it a limited monarchy. Christ's 
power is absolute. He is King of kings and Lord of 
lords. All power belongs to him in heaven and in earth. 
We are to teach what he commanded, adding nothing to 
it and taking nothing from it. So, then, if the church 
shines at all it shines in a borrowed light. All its light 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 163 

must come from him who is the Sun of righteousness. 
Thus the moon has no light. It is an opaque body. And 
yet how we enjoy its beautiful light to-night, and we 
truly speak of the light of the moon. How is this? The 
light of the sun falls upon the moon and the moon gives 
it to us. Its light all comes from the sun. So the church 
lias no light of its own. All its light is a derived or bor- 
rowed light. It is only infallible in its teaching when it 
proclaims what Jesus and his inspired apostles gave to 
the world. Too often it has not been content with this; 
but it has gone to councils and synods and priests and prel- 
ates for its laws and ordinances. This has led to all 
the divisions and distractions in the religious world. 

When that quaint philosopher, Diogenes, was seen bear- 
ing a lighted torch in his hand in the open day and in the 
glare of the sunlight, and he was asked why he did it, 
he said: "I am looking for an honest man/ 5 There was 
method in his madness. It was a rebuke to the corrup- 
tion of his times. He lived in degenerate days, when cor- 
ruption existed in high places and in low places. Let the 
church be content to receive all its light from Christ and 
let it shine in all the graces of his peerless life and teach- 
ing. 

What is the dutv of the church? "Let your light 
shine/' said Jesus. We must not be content to receive 
the light. We must take it to others. We should be light- 
bearers. 

All men should come into the church. Men say some- 
times, "I don't need the church. I can get along as well 
without it." Can you? Will your statement stand the 
test? Suppose all others should stay out as you have done, 
what would be the result? There would be no church. 
Then what? There would be no Bibles. What then? 
We would know nothing of Christ. What then? We 



164 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

would have no Christianity. What then? We would 
have no civilization. What then? We would be bar- 
barians. It has not been very long since our boasted 
Anglo-Saxon race was barbarian. What brought them out 
of it into our exalted standing? Men and women of 
God, with the sweet old story of Jesus and his love, and 
these are the forces at work to-day in every heathen na- 
tion and which are fast transforming their lives. 

When I hear a man boast that he does not need the 
church, and can do as well without it, I sometimes feel 
like there ought to be some kind of mechanical device 
by which he could be instantly jerked out of his Christian 
environment and dropped down amid the naked savages 
of darkest Africa. I think he would be glad to come back 
and join the church. But it would not be a fair test. If 
we should transport him to a heathen community, he 
would carry with him the teachings of a saintly mother, 
a godly father, a faithful Sunday-school teacher and de- 
voted pastor, and a hundred chances to one he would turn 
missionary and teach the natives the truths of Christianity ! 
Men, I plead with you to come to Christ and help re- 
deem this old world for God. If Jesus loved the church 
and gave himself for it, you should love it and devote 
yourself to its service. Do not substitute the lodge or the 
club for the church if you would not lodge this side of 
heaven. Let no human institution take the place of the 
divine. 

THE WORLD'S EXAMPLE. 

Man needs an example in morals and religion. Ex- 
ample is stronger than precept. Actions speak louder than 
words. We are largely the creatures of limitation and 
very much influenced by environment. If we have not 
the good for our model, we are prone to follow the bad. 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 165 

This is seen in the home, in the school and in the army. 
In the home the child imitates the action of the parent 
long before it can comprehend any words that may be 
spoken. In the school the life of the pupil is unconscious- 
ly molded by the life of the teacher. The individuality 
and personality of some professors is so stamped upon the 
pupils that they need not tell you from what college or 
university they came. This principle is pre-eminently true 
in the army. The soldiers under John Morgan and Stone- 
wall Jackson caught the fire and impetuosity of these 
great generals and were willing to do and dare and die 
for them; whereas, the boys under George B. McClellan 
imbibed the ease and lassitude of their general and died 
in the ditches by the thousand. "All quiet along the 
Potomac" was the report that disgusted the North. Per- 
haps this principle never found better illustration than 
in the lives of Alexander the Great and Darius the Great. 
When Alexander succeeded his father, Philip of Mace- 
don, he came into a little army of thirty thousand men, 
who were poorly equipped, poorly fed and poorly paid. 
The first thing he did was to bestow all his possessions 
upon his army, dividing it among his soldiers. He won 
their hearts in this way and bound them to him as with 
hooks of steel. Darius, the Medo-Persian emperor, had 
a million of men at his command and all the wealth and 
luxury heart could wish. He was a voluptuous prince. 
Alexander dared to engage Darius in battle. Under any 
ordinary circumstances it would have seemed foolhardy 
for an army to meet another in conflict against such odds, 
but the Greeks achieved an easy victory. Alexander threw 
himself into the thickest of the fight and his soldiers 
caught his spirit. Darius came upon the field in his golden 
chariot and remained far in the rear of the army. His 



166 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

soldiers caught his spirit of ease and luxury and were 
wholly unfitted for the rigors of war. 

In the realm of religion this principle holds good. 
"Like priests, like people" is an old saying and very true. 
Man needs an example in religion. And we need a per- 
fect example. We should be satisfied with nothing short 
of perfection in our model; not that we will ever attain 
to perfection, for, as some one has truly said: "No life 
will ever be acceptable to God save as it is presented to 
him in the softening shadows of the cross/' Our lives 
always fall below our ideals; hence the need of a perfect 
ideal. 

Where shall we look for our perfect example? Not to 
Moses, nor to John the Baptist. Neither of these was 
perfect, and both directed the attention of the people away 
from themselves to the coming One. We must not follow 
Luther, Calvin, Wesley nor Campbell. All these were 
imperfect and more or less sinful. Jesus the Christ is 
our perfect example. In him all fullness dwells. "He 
was holy and harmless and undefiled, and separate from 
sinners." Of him Moses said: "Him shall you hear." 
Concerning him John the Baptist said: "Behold, the 
Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." 
Paul said: "Follow me as I follow Christ." This should 
be our constant rule: Follow men only as they follow 
Christ. 

Christ is our perfect example in the holiness of his 
character; in his entire consecration to the will of God; 
in his early consecration; in his love for humanity; in 
his sympathy for the poor; in his pity for the fallen; in 
his simplicity of manner; in his forgiving spirit; in the 
perfect agreement between his teaching and his practice. 
None have been so bold as to charge him with double deal- 
ing and hypocrisy. Eenan, the great French infidel, says : 



THE CHARLESTOX SERMONS. 1G7 

"Whatever may be the surprises of the future, Jesus will 
never be surpassed. He will remain the corner-stone of 
humanity/' This is high praise, but well deserved. 
Strauss, the German rationalist, says : "Without Jesus 
Christ in the heart there can be no true piety/' A greater 
than these has said : "Look unto me, all ye ends of the 
earth, and be ye saved." If all men everywhere would fol- 
low Jesus, it would make a paradise here below and the 
desert would blossom like the rose. War and rapine and 
murder would be no more. Men would beat their swords 
into ploughshares and their spears into pruning-hooks. 
'Ro longer would 



"Man's inhumanity to man 

Make countless thousands mourn." 



Capital would not oppress labor and labor would sustain 
its proper relation to capital. Everybody would have el- 
bow-room, and "live and let live" would be the universal 
motto. Heaven hasten the day when all this may be a 
blessed realization. 

THE GREAT FOUNDATION. 

A building, for its safety, must have a good founda- 
tion, and it is equally true of all organized bodies of men 
and women, political, sociological, educational, benevolent 
or religious. The reason Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece 
and Rome went down is because of the foundation under- 
lying them. They were built upon the brutal principle 
that might makes right. They were steeped in blood. 
Each nation was not satisfied unless it could swallow up 
all others. Strip their history of the accounts of blood and 
violence and there would not be a skeleton of the story 



168 SERMON'S, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

left. The heart sickens at the recital. Those nations 
went down and it is well. 

There are alarmists or calamity howlers who predict 
the speedy overthrow of our own nation. They reason 
from analogy. As Babylon is fallen and as Eome had her 
decline and fall, they conclude that this must be our fate. 
It does not necessarily follow. Every logician knows that 
reasonings from analogy are not conclusive. There is 
really no analogy existing between our nation and those 
great empires. While they were built upon might, ours 
is built upon right. A blind man should be able to see 
the difference. Theirs is born of hell ; ours is from heaven. 
They are as different as day and night, as heat and cold. 

When our fathers laid the foundation for our beloved 
nation they laid it deep and strong in the principles of 
eternal truth. They declared that unto all men belong 
certain inalienable rights, such as life, liberty and the pur- 
suit of happiness. They boldly proclaimed that all men 
are created free and equal. These truths are eternal. 
They did not originate them. They borrowed them from 
the Bible. Many centuries before Paul declared to the 
Athenian philosophers that God had made of one blood 
all the nations to dwell upon all the face of the earth. He 
also declared to the Corinthians that there should be 
neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female, 
thus teaching the equal rights of all men and women. 
The apostle Peter also declared that God is no respecter 
of persons. So teaches the Bible. 

The church of Jesus Christ has stood for nearly two 
thousand years. During that time all the machinations of 
the devil have been hurled against it. Fiery, relentless 
criticism has assailed it. False friends have betrayed it. 
The fagot, the rack, the headsman's ax, the lash and the 
dungeon have all been employed to effect its ruin. Every 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 169 

persecution that bad men and demons could devise has 
been used for its overthrow. Christians have been cast 
into prison; they have been scourged; they were made to 
fight with wild beasts at Ephesus, at Antioch, at Rome; 
they were covered with tar and burned at night to illumi- 
nate Nero's gardens for his fiendish delight; they had 
their heads chopped off; they were stretched upon the 
rack; they were chained to galley ships; they had their 
eyes burned out and their tongues cut out; they were 
branded with hot irons; they were subjected to the most 
excruciating torture and made to seek refuge in dens and 
caves of the earth. 

Why this security and prosperity upon the part of 
the church ? It is largely because of the foundation under- 
lying it. Had it been founded upon a human basis it 
would have gone down amid the wreck of nations and the 
ruin of empires. It would have been swept long since 
into the vortex of oblivion. 

The foundation is divine. "Other foundation can no 
man lay than that is laid, which is Christ/' Jesus said 
of himself: "Upon this rock I will build my church, 
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Peter 
says of Christ : "This is the stone which was set at naught 
of the builders, but is become the head of the corner." 

This foundation is secure. It will stand for all time. 
As well try to build a pyramid beginning at the apex; 
as well try to force the waters of Niagara back upon them- 
selves; or as well try to dip yonder Atlantic dry with a 
ladle, as to try to overthrow the kingdom of God. 

The man who builds upon Christ will be secure in life, 
in death and in the eternal world. "Whoso heareth these 
sayings of mine," says Jesus, "and doeth them, shall be 
likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock ; 
and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds 



170 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

blew and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was 
founded upon the rock." This is the bright side. I re- 
joice in it, but there is a dark side also. "And every one 
that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, 
shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house 
upon the sand; and the rains descended, and the floods 
came, and the winds blew and smote upon that house, 
and it fell, and great was the fall of it." Great was the 
fall of it! These words come down to us through the 
ages like a mournful dirge. 

SIN-SICKNESS AND ITS CURE. 

As the growth of disease is generally gradual and in- 
sidious, so sin is gradual in its development. Men do not 
become great sinners in a moment. The great thief was 
not alwa}^s so, nor the drunkard, nor the libertine. By 
stealing little things a man begins the career which cul- 
minates in holding up a train or cracking a bank safe. 
By taking a glass of beer or wine a man begins to pave 
the way to a drunkard's grave. By indulging thoughts 
impure the libertine is made possible. Our safety lies in 
guarding against the tendencies to evil. We must not de- 
spise the day of small things, but guard against their 
advances. 

Some diseases of the body are incurable by any human 
agency; so sin can not be eradicated by man. Only the 
help of Christ and the cleansing efficacy of his blood can 
remove sin stains from the human heart. There is no 
other name given under heaven or among men whereby 
we must be saved. All the promises are in Christ Jesus. 
Would that all men would heed divine entreaty and come 
to him. He is able to save to the uttermost all who will 
come to him by a living faith and a hearty obedience. 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 171 

The most dangerous condition for a man physically 
is to be sick and not know it ; so the worst condition into 
which a man can fall spiritually is to be a sinner and not 
know it. A man can go on in wrong-doing until he does 
violence to his whole moral being. Conscience becomes 
dead or unresponsive. All the finer sensibilities become 
blunted and warped. He comes to call good evil and evil 
good. His moral vision is blurred. His ears are deaf 
to divine invitations. His heart is hardened against all 
heavenly influences. The apostle Paul speaks of those 
who are past feeling. What could be worse than this? 
And again he speaks of those whose consciences are seared 
as with a hot iron. If we are slightly burned, we suffer 
intense pain, but if one burns to death, there may be con- 
tortions of the body and involuntary twitching of the 
nerves and muscles, but there is no pain. He is burned 
so deep that the nerves of sensation or feeling are de- 
stroyed. So when a person commits the first sin con- 
science is alert, asserts itself and rises up and rebukes him. 
When he sins again conscience is dulled. He can go on 
in sin until conscience lies dormant. Keep the conscience 
alert and tender. 

When a man is sick he will call a medical man or avail 
himself of such remedies as will help him throw off the 
disease; so men should apply to the great Physician of 
souls that they may be healed of sin-sickness. 

There is efficacy in the blood of Jesus sufficient to save 
all men, if all were willing to be saved. Because there is 
virtue in Jesus it does not follow that he will save us. 
A physician may have the best remedies in the world, but 
of what benefit is he to the sick unless they apply to him, 
secure his remedies, and use them according to his pre- 
scriptions? Jesus is able and willing to save us, but we 
must be willing to be saved. "My people shall be a will- 



172 SERMON'S, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

ing people," saith the Lord. By applying to the great 
Physician, securing his remedy and complying with his 
requirements, we may be healed. 

THE DIVINE CREED. 

The word "creed" comes from credo, meaning "I be- 
lieve." When, therefore, we speak of a man's creed we 
simply mean what he believes. What he believes politi- 
cally is his political creed. When the Republican party 
drafted their platform in Chicago they declared their po- 
litical faith to the world. When the Democrats met in 
St. Louis and adopted their platform they proclaimed 
their faith. So also the Prohibitionists in their National 
Convention in Indianapolis. These respective parties crys- 
tallize about these platforms, and their vitality and power 
largely depend upon these declarations. 

No organized body of men and women can exist with- 
out a creed, oral or written. Webster says, "A creed is a 
definite summary of truth to be believed." 

What, then, is the creed of the church? What is the 
divinely authorized object of men's faith? We are not in- 
quiring after the creeds of Christendom. That would 
be a hopeless task. These are losing their power more and 
more, and the time is not far distant when there will be 
none so poor as to do them reverence. Creed revision is 
in the air. What is the creed that needs no revision? 
It is faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. This is 
the great central truth of the Holy Scriptures, around 
which all other truths cluster, toward which all other 
truths tend, and in which all others center. With it stands 
or falls the whole Christian structure. One may read 
the New Testament through and through and he will fail 
to find where Jesus or his apostles ever required any in- 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 173 

dividual to believe anything else in order to admission to 
baptism, to the fellowship of the church and the salvation 
of the soul. Jesus "came unto his own, and they that were 
his own received him not. But as many as received him 
to them gave he the right to become children of God, 
even to them that believe on his name" (John 1: 11, 12). 
"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even 
so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever be- 
lieveth in him may have eternal life" (John 3:14,15). 
Such passages might be multiplied indefinite^. Sonship, 
life, salvation — all these depend upon faith in Jesus. 

There is power in this creed. All influence is personal. 
This creed is not belief in dogma, traditions, theological 
definitions and speculations. There has been too much 
theology and too little Christology. This divine creed is 
faith in the divine person of Jesus; hence its power. 
What wondrous victories were wrought in the early cen- 
turies of the Christian era! During those centuries the 
church had no other authoritative statement of faith. 
With the introduction of traditions, speculative theories 
and hair-splitting distinctions the seeds of discord and 
division were sown. When the church reclined in the lap 
of the Delilah of humanisms, like Samson, it was shorn 
of its strength. 

This creed is all-embracing. It accepts Jesus in his 
threefold office of Prophet, Priest and King. As my 
Prophet I avail myself of his teaching; as my Priest, of 
his intercession, and as my King, I enthrone him in 
my heart to rule me in thought and word and deed. It 
is all-embracing so far as the Bible is concerned. Jesus 
endorsed both Old and New Testament. If I truly be- 
lieve in him, my faith embraces all that he endorsed. 

I am not required to believe in faith. I believe in 
Christ, and that is faith. I do not believe in repentance, 



174 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

but in Christ, and that leads me to repent. I have no 
faith in baptism, but I believe in Christ, and this led 
me to be baptized. I am not required to believe in prayer, 
but I believe in Christ and this causes me to live a life 
of prayer. Mr. Moody put it in a happy way : "The ques- 
tion is not, do I believe in prayer, but do I pray in faith ?" 
I am not required to believe in election, but faith in Jesus 
elects me. I am not required to believe in foreordination, 
but faith in Christ foreordains me to eternal life. 

There is a wideness in this divine creed that tran- 
scends all others. Men have tried to unite upon human 
creeds, but all in vain. This divine creed is broad enough 
to accommodate all the children of God. Here all Chris- 
tians may stand in holy unity and sweet accord. There 
is a feeling among all the thoughtful in the churches to- 
day in favor of a closer union, a sweeter sympathy and a 
more loving fellowship among all who love our God and 
our Saviour Jesus Christ. 

There is liberty in this creed. Where it obtains it 
means: "In faith, unity; in opinion, liberty; in all things, 
charity." Let us get back to original ground. 

THE DIVINE CONFESSION OF FAITH. 

The only confession of faith required by Jesus and his 
apostles was a whole-hearted confession of faith in Jesus 
Christ as the Son of God, and made before men. Here is 
a chain of Scripture testimony with seven golden links. 
Jesus said in the tenth chapter of Matthew, "Every one, 
therefore, who shall confess me before men, him will I 
also confess before my Father who is in heaven." This 
is link number one. A second link is found in the six- 
teenth chapter of Matthew, when Jesus asked his disciples, 
"Who say ye that I am?" and Simon Peter said, "Thou 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 175 

art the Christ, the Son of the living God/' A third link 
is found in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John, 
where Peter again confesses and says, "We believe and 
know that thou art the holy One of God." Still another 
link is found in the eleventh chapter of this same Gospel, 
when Martha said to Jesus, "I have believed that thou art 
the Christ, the Son of God." We find a fifth link in this 
chain of Bible testimony in the conversion of the Ethio- 
pian, as recorded in the eighth chapter of Acts. When 
he demanded baptism, Philip the evangelist said, "If thou 
believest with all thine heart thou mayest." The man said, 
"I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God." Paul 
furnishes another beautiful link for the chain in the tenth 
chapter of Eomans, "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth 
Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God 
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Again 
Paul says to Timothy that Jesus himself did witness a 
good confession before the Eoman Governor. In Pilate's 
court Jesus confessed that he was the Christ. Thus the 
seven links are all supplied and the chain is complete. 
The Bible is silent about any other confession, and we 
should not add anything that the Lord does not require. 
The sinner should not be required to run the gauntlet of 
thirty-nine articles, nor twenty-five articles, nor five points, 
nor any number of articles that men may devise. There 
is all to gain, and nothing to lose, by adhering closely to 
the word of God. 

There are many reasons for insisting upon this divine 
confession. That it is of divine origin, authorized by our 
Lord himself, is sufficient for the loyal heart. 

It is enough, or the Lord would certainly have required 
more. He knows the deep needs of the human soul and 
he has given us the Bible to meet all these needs. Can 
finite man improve upon the law of an infinite God? 



176 SEBMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

When we add our human confessions it seems to me that 
we call in question not only the wisdom, but the mercy, of 
God. 

This confession of faith is the act in which the soul 
commits itself to God, and by which faith in Christ be- 
comes a living, active, governing principle in our hearts 
and lives. It is not enough that we believe, but we must 
commit ourselves to that faith. This whole-hearted con- 
fession is the act of committal. It serves as the oath of 
allegiance in which the soul renounces its allegiance to 
the world, the flesh and the devil and owns allegiance to 
him who is the King of kings and Lord of lords. It is 
the great turning-point in a man's life. He no longer 
seeks his own, but the will of God. 

This divine confession is the real test of our faith. 
When a man makes it, all other requirements of the Lord 
become easy. 

This confession is really the dividing line between 
Christians and sinners. It has been the battleground for 
nearly two thousand years. On the one side has been 
marshaled the army of unbelief and on the other the 
mighty hosts of faith. It is an irrepressible conflict. It 
will continue to be waged as long as the world stands. 

What blessings come to him who confesses his whole- 
hearted faith in Jesus? Paul says that with the mouth 
confession is made unto salvation. The fate of a man 
depends upon his attitude toward Jesus the Christ. Jesus 
says that he who confesses him before men will be con- 
fessed by him before the Father and the angels. This was 
illustrated in the case of Simon Peter. He had no sooner 
said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," 
than Jesus said, "Thou art Peter/' Thus there was mu- 
tual ownership and mutual recognition. If we would be 
confessed of the Lord, we must confess him. 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 177 

THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS. 

No scene in the Bible is more worthy of the artist's 
skill, because of the place where it occurred and the per- 
sons who were there. It was on a mountain-top. Nearly 
all the great milestones that mark the pathway of divine 
revelation have occurred upon the summit of the moun- 
tains. It was upon a lofty mountain that the ark rested. 
Abraham built the altar for Isaac on Mount Moriah, and 
Moses received the law on Mount Sinai. Aaron died on 
Mount Hor and Moses upon Mount Nebo. The blessings 
and cursings of the law were read from Mounts Ebal and 
Gerizim, and Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal upon 
Mount Carmel. The Temple of Solomon was erected 
upon Mount Moriah and the Palace of David on Mount 
Zion. Jesus preached his first great sermon upon a 
mountain and he stood upon the mount when he wept over 
Jerusalem, and when he gave his great commission to his 
apostles. From the same mountain he ascended to heaven 
to be crowned King of kings and Lord of lords. Why 
God selected the lofty altitudes for these great events we 
do not know. Perhaps it is because men get greater 
glimpses of his glory than upon lower levels. This event 
is intensely interesting because of the persons involved. 
The company was not great in numbers, but it was very 
great in its representative character. Peter and James 
and John, whom Canon Farrar calls "the apostles of the 
apostles," were there. Peter, representing that impulsive 
class of Christians found in all ages of the church; James, 
representing the severely practical Christians ; John, stand- 
ing for those whose lives are aglow with love; Moses and 
Elijah were there. For fifteen hundred years Moses had 
been honored as the lawgiver to the Jews. Elijah was 
the rugged prophet who restored the law of Israel. Jesus, 



178 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

our blessed Saviour, was there, and over all, crowning. all, 
God blessed the sublime occasion with his ineffable pres- 
ence. 

The events tend to make the scene of transcendent 
interest. Jesus was transfigured before the apostles. He 
was changed not in character, but in appearance. When 
he began the ascent of that mountain his visage was 
marred. Deep lines of care and sorrow were written all 
over his face, for he was a man of sorrow and acquainted 
with grief. Now, in the transfiguration, his face did shine 
as the sun. When he started up the mountain he was 
clothed in the garments of the poor. Now his clothing 
becomes whiter than anv fuller on earth could make 
them. It was a momentary manifestation of the glory 
that he had with the Father before the world was, and 
which would await him after his death and resurrection. 
Moses and Elijah appeared in that same ineffable glory. 
When Peter beheld all this he expressed the desire to 
remain there forever. No sooner had he proposed this, 
than God came down from heaven in a cloud, and a voice 
from out the cloud exclaimed: "This is my beloved Son, 
in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him." Then the 
glory vanished. All the heavenly messengers disappeared. 
Jesus assumed his former appearance, and, with his trio 
of disciples, he descended the mountain and entered again 
upon his busy, suffering life of sacrifice. 

Great lessons are for us here. The supreme lesson is 
the divinity of Jesus Christ. "This is my beloved Son." 
God here declared the central truth of the Bible. The 
second lesson in importance is that he is our teacher. 
"Hear ye him." Would that all men would hear him. It 
would transform them and fill their hearts with joy in- 
expressible, and full of glory, and give them a peace that 
flows as a river. 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 179 

This event teaches that we are not to hope for the 
transfiguration in this life. Peter wanted to stay right 
there upon the mountain-top and enjoy that glory. He 
was to learn better. He was to go to suffering men, and 
try to save them from sin and death. Labor, persecution 
and violent death were yet in store for him. Now is 
the cross-bearing time. After death will come the crown- 
wearing time. 

In the fact that Moses and Elijah enjoyed the glory, 
we have a pledge of our own final glorification. Paul says 
of the body : "It is sown in dishonor ; it is raised in glory." 
Again he says: "These vile bodies shall be changed and 
conformed to the body of his glory/' Once again : "When 
he who is our life shall appear, then shall we also appear 
with him in glory." v 

We learn further that when a man dies, he lives. 
Moses had been dead fifteen hundred years, but now he 
appears upon this mountain. This shows how false is the 
materialistic philosophy. There is that in man which 
survives the death of the body; which the touch of death 
can not pollute, nor the breath of death snuff out. 

Not only does man live after death, but it is conscious 
existence. Moses and Elijah talked with Jesus about his 
approaching death. They were conscious. 

Moses and Elijah appeared in their own individuality 
or personality. They were recognized as such. This for- 
ever settles the old question of heavenly recognition. We 
shall know one another there. 

"Yes, my earth- worn soul rejoices, 
And my weary heart grows light; 
Tor the loved and cheerful voices, 
And the forms so pure and bright, 



180 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

That shall welcome us in heaven, 

Are the loved of long ago; 
And to them 'tis fondly given 

Thus their mortal friends to know." 



THE GREAT COMMISSION. 

In our nation we honor the ambassadors of state. If 
kings and princes and other dignitaries visit our shores, 
we greet them and delight to do them honor. Jesus Christ 
is not only King, but he is King of kings and Lord of 
lords. He is high above all principalities and powers and 
has a name that is above every name. He possesses all 
power in heaven and in earth, and by virtue of his all- 
power he said to his people, "Go teach all nations, baptiz- 
ing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, 
and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all 
things whatsoever I have commanded you, and, lo ! I am 
with you alway, even unto the end of the ages." He who 
ignores this command of Jesus is guilty of treason against 
the government of our God, and he is a rebel against the 
King. As these words of Jesus come down to us through 
the ages they are the marching orders to the church, and 
loyalty here is the only way by which the church can ever 
conquer the hosts of sin. By turning away from its work 
of soul-saving and fooling away its time and energies upon 
theological systems and polemics, it has crippled its influ- 
ence and stayed the progress of the world's conversion. 

The commission is for all the world in general, and 
for each person in particular. When a man says, "I don't 
believe in Foreign Missions," it is the same as saying 
that he does not believe in Christ, who was himself a 
foreign missionar}% leaving his heavenly home and com- 
ing to this foreign world to save mankind. Every Chris- 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 181 

tian should be full of missionary enthusiasm. Some 
spend their time in useless speculation as to what will be- 
come of the heathen. A more profitable and vital question 
is, "What will become of us if we do not preach the gospel 
to the heathen?" Others say, "We have heathen at 
home." If so, try to save them; but do not relax your 
effort in behalf of those on foreign shores. Those who do 
the most for the world at large always do the most for 
those at home. Because one's lamp may shine out of his 
window for the passerby does not lessen its glow in his 
room. 

Still others excuse themselves for their narrowness by 
saying charity begins at home. I presume Satan never 
whispered a more hellish statement in mortal ear; but I 
really believe some persons think it is in the Bible. What 
does the Bible say? Listen, "Charity seeketh not her 
own." That is sublime, and it is divine. The difference 
between the heathen abroad and the heathen at home is 
this: The heathen at home could obey the gospel if they 
would, while the heathen abroad would obey the gospel 
if they could. It is ours to give them the opportunity. 
The system of benevolence as expressed in this divine 
commission is as high above all the systems of men as are 
the heavens above the earth. It is as high as heaven, as 
deep as the grave and as broad as humanity. It adapts it- 
self alike to rich and poor ; to high and low ; to noble and 
ignoble ; to learned and illiterate. The great, loving heart 
of its author throbs with sympathy w r ith all mankind. 

The terms of the commission, as recorded by Matthew, 
are teaching and baptism. As given by Mark, they are 
preaching, faith and baptism. As left to us by Luke, they 
are preaching and repentance. (See Matt. 28:19,20; 
Mark 16 : 15, 16 ; Luke 24 : 47.) All these terms rest alike 
upon the authority of Jesus. We have no right to reject 



182 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

any of them, nor to unduly exalt some of them and de- 
preciate others. This has been the sin of the religious 
world. The blessing secured by the terms of the com- 
mission are remission of sins and salvation. He who be- 
lieves the gospel, repents, and is baptized, secures remis- 
sion of sins, and obtains salvation; for the Lord hath 
spoken it and his word will stand fast. 

FAITH. 

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of faith 
in Heaven's economy. It lies at the very threshold of 
every true life. Paul says : "Ye are all the children of 
God by faith in Christ Jesus." And again : "Whatsoever 
is not of faith is sin." And yet again : "Without faith it 
is impossible to please God, for he that would come to God 
must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of all 
who diligently seek him." Peter presents a ladder by 
which the soul mounts to heaven : "Add to your faith vir- 
tue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temper- 
ance, and to temperance patience, and to patience brother- 
ly kindness, and to brotherly kindness godliness, and to 
godliness charity." Faith is the first step in this ladder. 
Without it the others can not be reached. 

Jesus again and again said: "As thy faith is, so be it 
unto thee." The Bible teaches that the just shall live by 
faith, and that we walk by faith, not by sight. Faith is 
the eye of the soul and it brings the spiritual world within 
the realm of realities. God and Christ and heaven are as 
real to him who believes as are any of the tangible objects 
about him. The Bible is to him as much the word of 
God as though it were spoken to him in audible tones from 
heaven. How this enlarges one's domain and extends his 
horizon ! This evidently is what one of old means when 
he says: "We look not at the things which are seen, but 



THE CHARLESTON SEBMONS. 183 

at the things which are not seen; for the things which 
are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen 
are eternal." 

All the worthies of the olden time were moved by faith 
in God. Such men as Enoch, Abel, Noah, Abraham, 
Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David and Elijah had implicit 
confidence in God. Women like Sarah, Miriam, Hannah 
and Euth lived beautiful lives because of their faith. The 
men and the women who to-day move the world for good 
and for God have unbounded faith in the Lord. They 
scale the heights of Christian excellence because of this 
confidence and trust. Once, when president of a universi- 
ty in Missouri, I had Prances E. Willard, of sainted mem- 
ory, address my students. I took her to the top of the 
dome which overlooked the Mississippi. It was two hun- 
dred and thirty-five feet above the level of the river. As 
soon as she emerged at the top and silently viewed the 
wondrous scenery for a few moments she exclaimed, "Well, 
he that climbs the highest sees the most." That is phys- 
ically, intellectually and morally true. It is by faith in 
God that we reach the heights. 

Faith led Paul to say, "I am ready to be offered; the 
time of my departure is at hand." 

Faith led Polycarp to praise God while the flames were 
wrapping about his body. 

Faith cheered Luther on in his work of the Eeforma- 
tion. 

Faith caused John Knox to fall upon his knees and 
pray, "Lord, give me Scotland or I die." 

It was faith that cheered and sustained Eidley and 
Latimer in the hour of their martyrdom. 

Faith inspired Livingstone to explore the Dark Con- 
tinent and blaze the way through the pathless wilderness 
for the coming of the Christian missionary. 



184 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

Faith made possible the work of Carey and Judson 
and Moffat. 

Faith banishes fear, comforts in sorrow, cheers amid 
discouragement, gives strength in weakness, sustains in 
bereavement and gives hope in death. 

The man who does not walk by faith gropes his way 
amid darkness, gloom and doubt. He robs his life of the 
joy of living and cheats his soul of the keenest pleasure 
and the highest good. 

Faith places the hand in the Father's and makes us 
willing to be led of him, knowing that he will always 
lead aright. 

May the prayer of our hearts ever be, "Lord, increase 
our faith and help thou our unbelief." 

REPENTANCE. 

There is not love enough in the universe to save an 
unrepentant soul. Not until God coerces men and drags 
them into the kingdom of heaven can he save the im- 
penitent. This he will never do. The only force which 
he employs is love, and this must always act in harmony 
with man's will, never against it. 

When John the Baptist came to prepare the way for 
Christ's coming, "Kepentance" was the burden of his 
preaching. He said, "Kepent ye, for the kingdom of 
heaven is at hand." When he saw many of the Phari- 
sees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said unto 
them, "Ye offspring of vipers, who hath warned you to 
flee from the wrath to come ? Bring forth, therefore, fruit 
worthy of repentance." If repentance was necessary to 
prepare them for the Christ, who was yet to come, surely 
it must be necessary for us now that he has come. But 
we are not left to conjecture. Jesus said again and again, 
"Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." No more 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 185 

important message can come to men to-day than this from 
our Lord. 

In his great commission Jesus makes repentance neces- 
sary to the remission of sins, and the apostles everywhere 
required it. Peter, on the day of Pentecost, to three 
thousand anxious enquirers said, "Repent ye, and be bap- 
tized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto 
the remission of your sins." A few da} T s after this he 
said to five thousand more, "Repent ye, therefore, and turn 
again, that your sins may be blotted out, that so there 
may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the 
Lord." To the Athenians Paul said, "The times of ig- 
norance, therefore, Cod overlooked ; but now he command- 
eth men that they should all everywhere repent." Such 
statements can be multiplied. 

Repentance is vastly more than sorrow for sin. "Esau 
found no place of repentance, though he sought it care- 
fully with tears." All his sorrow could not restore the 
birthright to him which he had bartered away. Judas 
was very sor^ that he sold his Lord, but there was no re- 
pentance. He went and hanged himself. The rich young 
ruler went away from Christ sorrowing, but he did not 
repent. Webster says sorrow is properly no part of re- 
pentance, but it is an adjunct of repentance, and may 
lead to repentance. If a man simply experiences sorrow 
for his sins and stops with that, it is remorse, and remorse 
is not repentance. It is the biting of the soul. The 
drunkard in his sober moments is remorseful, but he drinks 
again when opportunity is presented. He has not re- 
pented. The libertine feels remorse after a moment of 
paroxysmal pleasure, but he goes on with his infernal work 
of dragging woman down to hell with him. The gambler 
must have regret when he fleeces some unsuspecting vic- 
tim, but he goes on from bad to worse. Repentance is an 



186 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

act in which, with sorrow for our sins, we forsake them. 
It is more. We not only quit the sin, but, with full pur- 
pose of heart, we determine to live a godly life. Sam 
Jones used to say, "Repentance means quit your mean- 
ness." That is true so far as it goes, but it goes only half 
far enough. That is the negative side of it. There must 
be a positive element also. Paul expresses it when he says, 
"Cease to do evil and learn to do well." And again, "One 
thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and 
stretching forward to the things which are before, I press 
on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of 
God in Christ Jesus." There is no better conception than 
this. In short, repentance involves reformation of life, 
transformation of character and restitution, when restitu- 
tion is possible. Paul is a good example of repentance. 
Having been a formidable enemy to the church before his 
conversion, he became its greatest advocate afterward. It 
meant "About face !" to him. In Zaccheus, the extortion- 
ate tax collector, we have a fine example. He so thorough- 
ly repented that he offered to restore to every man he had 
defrauded four times as much as he had taken. Mary 
Magdalena is another thoroughly repentant case. Al- 
though she had been for a long time under Satanic in- 
fluences she became one of the most devoted followers of 
Jesus. The church at Corinth, in putting away its cor- 
rupt practices, showed that it had truly repented. Noth- 
ing short of the abandonment of sin and entrance upon a 
righteous life will pass muster at the gate of God's mercy. 
Man must not think of going to heaven bearing the 
world upon his back. The way that leads unto life is 
too straitened and the gate to heaven too narrow to 
admit of such incubus. The man who swears must quit 
that and praise God instead. The gambler must abandon 
his tricks and make an honest livelihood. The man who 



THE CHAKLESTOX SERMONS. 187 

drinks intoxicants must become a total abstainer. The 
man of policy must become the man of principle. The 
impure must enter upon a life of purity. The stingy 
must become liberal. The narrow and bigoted must be- 
come broadminded and receptive to truth. Paul sums it 
all up when he says : "Know ye not that the unrighteous 
shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived; 
neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor 
effeminate, nor Sodomists, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor 
drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the 
kingdom of God. And such were some of you, but ye 
were washed, but ye were sanctified, but ye were justified 
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of 
our God." (See 1 Cor. 11:9-11.) They had repented 
deeply and thoroughly. 

A man must know he is a sinner, must feel his guilt 
and must determine by the help of the Lord to forsake 
his sins and live henceforth to his glory. Thus resolving, 
thus coming, thus repenting, the soul enters upon the 
purest, sweetest joy possible in this world, and he sends 
a thrill of joy through all the angelic hosts, for our 
Saviour says : "There is joy in heaven among the angels 
over one sinner that repents." Why not repent? The 
church is anxious for you and all heaven is waiting to 
rejoice over you. 

BAPTISM. 

Who should be baptized ? How is baptism performed ? 
and what is the design of baptism? I follow the induc- 
tive method, gathering together the various passages of 
Scripture relating to each, and thus permitting the Bible 
to be its own interpreter. I believe this to be the only 
proper way. 

As to who should be baptized, the Scriptures teach that 



188 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

only such as are capable of having the gospel preached 
to them, capable of hearing the gospel and capable of 
being taught, are included in the command to be baptized. 
Furthermore, they must believe the gospel, be convicted 
of sin, repent of their sins and gladly receive the Word of 
truth. Their baptism must be immediately followed up 
by steadfast continuance in the apostles' doctrine, in the 
fellowship, in the communion and in prayers. They must 
add to their faith all the Christian graces and bear in their 
lives the fruit of the Spirit. 

The Christian Church believes that baptism is for per- 
sistent believers, hence rejects infant baptism. I object 
to infant baptism for the following reasons : They are 
not susceptible of having the gospel preached to them. 
They can not be taught. They can not hear the gospel. 
They can not exercise faith. There can be no conviction of 
sin. They can not inquire, "What must we do?" They 
can not gladly receive the Word of truth. They can not 
continue in the apostles' doctrine. They have been prac- 
ticed upon by others, when every soul must yield willing 
obedience to God. God knows nothing about obedience 
by proxy under the reign of Christ. It is done in the 
name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, whereas neither 
of these has authorized it. They are already fit subjects 
for the kingdom of heaven, and this ceremony can confer 
upon them no blessing at all. "Without faith it is im- 
possible to please God," but the infant has no faith. 
"Whatsoever is not of faith is sin/' There can be no 
faith in this instance, hence we believe the practice is 
sinful. 

As to the action of baptism, there is no disagreement 
in the religious world among scholars. All scholars admit 
that it is only done by immersion. Here is common 
ground. There is not a Greek scholar in the world who 



THE CHAKLESTOX SERMONS. 189 

will translate baptize by sprinkle or pour. The words for 
sprinkling and pouring are entirely different. Immersion 
is the primary meaning of the word. Secondary meanings 
are to wash, to dye, etc., but the washing and the dyeing 
are the results of the dipping. In the Xew Testament al- 
lusions to baptism, we have such expressions as "much 
water," "going down into the water," "coming up out of 
the water," "a birth," "a burial," "a resurrection," "a 
planting" and "bodies washed." Immersion meets all 
these conditions. Sprinkling and pouring do not meet 
one of them. Why not occupy common ground — the 
ground that is absolutely safe? 

The purpose of baptism is very clearly set forth in 
the Holy Scriptures. 

Under the ministry of John the Baptist it was con- 
nected with repentance, and was for the remission of sins, 
except in the case of our Lord's baptism, and even then it 
was for the fulfillment of all righteousness. The scribes 
and the lawyers rejected the counsel of God against them- 
selves, by refusing to be baptized of John in the Jordan. 
May we not reject the counsel of God against ourselves by 
refusing to be obedient to our Lord's command concerning 
baptism? Jesus said, "Except a man be born of water 
and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of 
heaven." All commentators of any note, and all the 
creeds, agree that "born of water" is water baptism. 
Then, why not submit to it? Jesus said, "Go teach all 
nations, baptizing them." Here is the same authority for 
baptism as there is for teaching. Again he says, "He that 
believeth and is baptized shall be saved." He joins be- 
lief and baptism with the copulative conjunction "and" 
for the same purpose. What God hath joined let no man 
sever. Peter, to the three thousand anxious inquirers on 
the day of Pentecost, said, "Eepent, and be baptized every 



190 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, unto remission 
of sins." 

Paul says, "For as many of you as were baptized into 
Christ did put on Christ." These and many other pas- 
sages show the stress put upon this holy ordinance by 
Jesus and his apostles. May my right hand forget its 
cunning, and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, 
when I shall speak lightly of this or any other command 
of the King. None of my brethren believe that baptism, 
dissociated from Christ, can do any possible good. None 
of us believe, for a moment, that there is any virtue in 
the waters of baptism, or in anything that we can do. 
All the saving virtue is in the blood of Jesus, but we 
appropriate that virtue to ourselves by taking him at 
his word, and yielding willing obedience to his commands. 
There was no virtue in the water of the Jordan to heal 
Naaman of the leprosy, but God's prophet told him to 
dip himself seven times in the Jordan. He did so and 
came forth with his flesh restored like the flesh of a little 
child. 

IS LIFE WORTH LIVING? 

One often hears the question, "Is life worth living?" 
Some wit has said, "That depends on one's liver !" There 
is much truth in the statement ; but a far better statement 
would be, "That depends upon how we live." Life is a 
sublime thing if used for God's glory, and for the good 
of man. Viewed from the standpoint of our mortality, 
and the brevity of life, we might conclude that it is 
scarcely worth while. How brief is life ! How certain 
is death ! 

It is said of Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander 
the Great, that he required one of his servants to come 
before him 'every morning and exclaim : "Philip, remem- 



THE CHABLESTOX SERMONS. 191 

ber that thou art mortal !" All this was to humble him, 
and make him know that he was a man and not a god. 

We need no one to come to the door of our homes every 
morning to tell us that we are mortal. The gray hairs, 
the sunken eyes, the trembling hands, the faltering foot- 
steps tell the story. Every twitch of pain and every scorch- 
ing fever proclaim it. All the slow-winding processions 
that move from our homes and churches reveal it. The 
silent cities of the dead — "God's half acres/' as they have 
been poetically called — mutely state the fact. Often they 
are far more densely populated than the cities of the living. 
Charleston is full of these dotted cemeteries. 

What more common than death? And yet we are not 
prepared for it. When we hear the words, "He is dead," 
we are startled, even as the deer is startled by the rustling 
of the leaves in the forest. Every heart-throb marks the 
death of two human beings. There have been about one 
hundred and eighty generations of men and women. One 
of these only is living now. All the others are forever 
gone. There are about two billion people upon the earth 
to-da}\ Of this number we can have no adequate concep- 
tion. Thirty-five years hence all this flood-tide of hu- 
manity will have ebbed away. The vortex of the tomb 
awaits it. So common is death that it becomes a serious 
question as to what shall be done with the bodies. The 
advocates cf cremation are becoming more numerous all 
the while, and the heathen method frequently supplants 
Christian burial. In places in England and Australia, 
instead of purchasing a commodious burial-lot, when the 
first member of a family dies, they bury him fifteen or 
twenty feet deep. The next victim of the "grim monster, 
death/ 5 is buried immediately over the first, and so on 
until all the family lies buried in that pit. 

What of all this? Is life worth living? Some misan- 



192 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

thropes say it is a worthless thing, and fling it away in 
suicide. Other gloomy souls say that all of life may be 
written in one sentence: "He was born a certain day, and 
he died a certain day/' Others say that one word, "Fail- 
ure," should be inscribed upon the tombstone. Still others 
would have us believe that we live and we die, and the 
great world goes right on as though we had never lived 
and as though we had never died. 

Are these statements true? A thousand times no! 
It is only the outward seeming. We live and we die. The 
world moves on. Soon we may be forgotten; but the 
lives we have lived have become a part of the warp and 
the woof of the great struggling world. We touch other 
lives at every angle, and influence them for the good or 
the bad. 

Could a man live to himself alone, then life would be 
a miserable failure. Could he wrap himself up in his 
robes of selfishness and conduct himself off from all fel- 
lowship with others, life would not be worth living. This 
he can not do. 

The Bible teaches that none of us liveth to himself, 
and no man dieth to himself. 

This is a great philosophical truth. It is not only true 
of man, but of everything in the mineral, vegetable and 
animal kingdom. It holds good in all of nature's domain. 
The rocks, the soils and the precious metals do not exist 
to themselves. They bless the world in a thousand and 
one directions. Does yonder tree live to itself? It fur- 
nishes beauty for the landscape and cooling shade for man 
and beast. If it dies, it is made into fuel, or furniture, 
or houses. Or even if it rots where it lies, it enriches the 
earth and is reproduced in grass and leaf and flowers and 
fruit. 

Could one have witnessed the wondrous growth and 



TIIE CHAELESTOX SEBMOXS. 193 

awful decay of vegetable matter in the carboniferous age 
he might have said : "What a waste is here." Was it a 
waste? It is a law in physics that nothing is wasted — 
nothing annihilated. By that very growth and decay God 
was making the beds of bituminous coal that now warm 
our homes and drive our machinery. 

Even the tiniest flower that blossoms in the most se- 
cluded dell does not live to itself. It may be unseen by 
mortal eye, and its fragrance may seem to be wasted "upon 
the desert air," but it is not so. Its beauty gladdens Je- 
hovah, who created it and invested it with its dainty colors, 
and its fragrance is sweet incense to his nostrils. He made 
all things for his pleasure and glory, and with each suc- 
cessive step of creation he pronounced it good. 

Oh, my brethren, don't undervalue your life. It is a 
sublime and awful thing to live. Life, in view of its re- 
sponsibilities, is far more solemn and awful than death. 
Why not live to a high and noble purpose? Why squan- 
der the precious years in sin and folly? Jesus says: 
"This is life eternal, that they may know thee, the only 
true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." Oh 
that you might know him — know him in his blessed love, 
in his pardoning power, in his sustaining grace and in all 
the fullness of his salvation ! Oh, men, you do not begin 
to live in any proper sense until you begin to live for 
God. You only exist, and wickedly exist at that. If you 
live and die out of Christ and away from God, upon 
your tombstone may be inscribed: "Here lies the body 
of one who wasted his golden years, squandered his op- 
portunities, dishonored his Maker and lost his soul. 



» 



"Golden years, golden years, 
Happy golden years; 
Oh, improve them as they fly, 
These happy golden years." 



194 SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 



THE GREAT SALVATION. 

"How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation ?" 
(Heb. 2:3.) There is vast meaning contained in the 
little word "so" in this connection. It is impossible for 
the human mind to scale its height, measure its depth or 
know its length and breadth. 

This is a great salvation because of the dignity, honor, 
glory and power belonging to its author. He made the 
worlds. He is higher than the angels. He is given a 
name above every other. He is the only begotten of the 
Father, full of grace and truth. Surely we can not escape 
if we neglect such a message brought by such a messenger. 
He certainly has a claim upon our attention and upon our 
service. 

This is a gieat salvation because it comes to us so 
well attested. All the prophets of the olden time testified 
of Jesus. In the ministry of John the Baptist Jesus was 
again and again proclaimed. Jesus himself often declared 
his divine nature and mission, and confirmed his claim 
not only with his peerless teaching and character, but with 
many wondrous miracles of love and mercy. He showed 
his power over inanimate matter; over the vegetable king- 
dom; over the animal kingdom; over man and his 
diseases; over demons, and over death and the grave. 
What more could he do ? Shall we reject his claims ? How 
shall we escape if we do? Angels bore witness to him, 
and God himself attested his claims at his baptism and 
upon the Mount of Transfiguration. Surely the man who 
rejects Christ does so at the peril of his soul. 

This salvation is great because of its scope. It is 
extended to all mankind and all could be saved if they 
would be. "He is not willing that any should perish, but 
that all should come to repentance." "Look unto me, all 



THE CHARLESTON SEKMONS. 195 

ye ends of the earth, and be ye saved/' is his loving chal- 
lenge to men. But if men refuse to look, they must take 
the consequences. Again he says, "And I, if I be lifted 
up, will draw all men unto me." But if I will not be 
drawn, he will not drive me. "Whosoever will may come," 
but whosoever will not can not come. 

It is a great salvation because of its adaptation to the 
needs of the human heart. There is not a wholesome de- 
sire, a laudable ambition, a worthy purpose or a legiti- 
mate longing that does not meet its full satisfaction in 
the religion of Jesus. 

This salvation is great because of its transforming 
power over human life and its controlling power. He who 
accepts it inquires at every step in life's journey, "What 
would Jesus do ? What would he have me do ?" He is not 
his own. He is bought with a price. He must glorify 
God in body and spirit. 

It is great because of the blessings it bestows. It 
brings pardon, peace, joy, strength, wisdom, hope and 
love in this life and heaven beyond. 

GOD AND THE SPARROWS. 

A great crowd of men, women and children were seen 
standing in one of the leading streets of Philadelphia, and 
all looking up into the branches of a great elm-tree. An 
English sparrow, in carrying a bit of twine to weave into 
its nest, had become hopelessly entangled with it, and the 
twine had become fastened to a twig of the tree, and there 
the helpless bird hung by its little foot, and it was crying 
from pain or fear. The piteous cry had attracted a thou- 
sand people to the spot, and the sympathy of all was en- 
listed in behalf of the little songster. All were longing 
for some way to set it free, i^long came a sailor boy, 



196 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

accustomed to climbing the tall rigging of the ship. He 
threw off his coat and began climbing the tree amid the 
huzzas of the crowd. Higher yet and higher he climbed, 
until his own safety was imperiled. At last he reached 
the bird and set it free. Now, some may think all this 
was much ado about nothing, but the Humanitarian So- 
ciety tendered him a resolution of thanks and appreciation. 
God does not think so, for Jesus said: "There is not a 
sparrow that falls to the ground without your heavenly 
Father's notice. . . . Fear not, therefore; ye are of more 
value than many sparrows." 

This is the lesson we want to emphasize: God's im- 
manence, and his care for his people. Too many live as 
though they think God is afar off, and heaven is remote. 
This is not Christian. It is heathenish. Paul found the 
men of Athens with an altar to the unknown God; but he 
said to them, "Our God is not very far from every one of 
us." "In him we live and move and have continued being." 
That was a new and startling truth to them. They did 
not understand how one can be on intimate terms with 
God. The same was true of the prophets of Baal. Elijah 
told them to cry aloud unto their gods, for they might be 
asleep, or on a far-off journey, or so engaged in battle that 
they did not know what was happening on earth. Elijah's 
words seem like ridicule; but they were in exact line with 
their conceptions of the gods. The Egyptians believed 
that gods and men had a battle. The men defeated the 
gods and drove them out of heaven! The gods then 
sought refuge in the river Nile, in the cattle, in the prod- 
ucts of the field and in leeks, onions and cabbages ! Egypt 
worshiped a hundred thousand of these gods ! We must 
bear this in mind if we would see the majesty and meaning 
of the plagues that Moses brought upon the people of 



THE CHARLESTON" SERMONS. 197 

Egypt. All the ten plagues, with one exception, were di- 
rect thrusts at their false deities. 

Our God is near. He is everywhere present, and he is 
ever merciful and good. "He careth for us/' 

When sinners are taught to seek and pray and agonize 
for many weeks and months and years in order to get God 
ready and willing to save them, and then oftentimes fail 
to propitiate him, they have borrowed this from the 
heathen. A man may be saved whenever he is willing to 
be saved. God is ready. Jesus is ready and anxious to 
save. The doors of the church of Jesus Christ are not 
only ajar, but wide open for his reception. The only thing 
in the way is the sinner's rebellious will. 

When Christians think God is afar off you may be 
sure that something has eclipsed God from the soul. A 
total eclipse of the sun occurred in 1869. What caused the 
darkness that settled over the earth and deceived fowls and 
animals, causing them to prepare for the night ? Some ob- 
ject came between the sun and the earth. It was the 
moon. So, my brother, if God is eclipsed from your soul 
it is because you have let some pet sin, some worldly influ- 
ence, some carking care, some unholy desire, or some de- 
ceitful riches, come in between you and God. As the 
frost king, in the winter, covers your window with all 
kinds of fantastic figures, and obscures the nearest objects 
without, even so the frosts of worldliness shut out the holi- 
est influences from the human soul. As the fogs, in the 
summer night-time, settle down over our homes, and make 
the nearest objects seem dim and afar off, so the fogs of 
tinbelief cloud the spiritual vision and rob us of all that 
is best and truest in life. Oh, let the love of God warm 
up the life and melt the frosts away ! Let the Holy Spirit 
richly dwell within you, and dissipate the fogs of unbelief ! 

The men and women of Bible times recognized God's 



198 SEKMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

immanence, and this is the secret of their success. Enoch 
walked with God ; Noah talked with God ; whenever Abra- 
ham tarried he communed with God. Moses endured as 
seeing him who is invisible. David set the Lord always 
before his face. Paul said: "We look not at the things 
which are seen, but on the things that are not seen; for 
the things seen are temporal, but the things unseen are 
eternal/' 

This realization of God's presence brings untold bless- 
ings to him who experiences it. It keeps him from sin- 
ning. It prevents overanxiety for the future. It banishes 
fear. It comforts in sorrow. It sustains in affliction. It 
saves from a sordid life. It is a sure antidote for fretting 
and worrying. It produces a life of loving trust and 
blessed hope. Many problems are beyond us, but we can 
wait, feeling that God knows and understands. 

"He knows the bitter, weary way, 
The endless strivings day by day, 
The souls that weep, the souls that pray, 
God knows it all. 

"He knows how hard the fight has been, 
The clouds that come our souls between, 
The wounds the world has never seen, 
He knows it all. 

"He knows when faint and worn we sink, 
How deep the pain, how near the brink 
Of dark despair we pause and shrink, 
God knows it all." 

Oh, may we ever love our God, lovingly trust him, and 
be happy in him. Bemember God and the sparrows. 



THE CHAKLESTON SERMONS. 199 



CHRISTIAN UNITY. 

Christian union is in the air. The people are caring 
less for their humanisms and getting closer to the Christ, 
and as we all come closer to him as a common center, we 
necessarily come closer to one another. The large-hearted, 
big-brained men and women of the Protestant world see 
the awful ruin wrought by divisions in their camps, deep- 
ly deplore it, and are advocating unity, a sweeter fellowship 
and a greater sympathy among the lovers of our Lord. 
Only the narrow-minded, little-hearted ones any longer 
make a plea for a divided Christendom. 

Presbyterians and Cumberlands have united. Unity is 
just about consummated among the Congregationalists, 
United Brethren and Protestant Methodists. The North- 
ern and Southern Baptists have united. Unitarians and 
Universalists have about absorbed each other. Episco- 
palians have been making overtures for unity for years. 
They have memorialized our own Convention again and 
again in favor of unity, but they want all to unite by 
becoming Episcopalians. That may be unselfish and mag- 
nanimous, but as yet they have not been able to make it 
appear. 

The Free Baptists and the Christian Church have been 
making overtures for unity, and quite a number of Mis- 
sionary Baptist congregations and congregations of the 
Christian Church have united within the past year. Chris- 
tian Endeavor was a long step in the direction of unity, 
but the Baptists and Methodists blocked the way by or- 
ganizing "The Young People's Baptist Union" and the 
"Epworth League." All honor to the Presbyterian, Con- 
gregational and Christian Churches for keeping denomina- 
tionalism out of the Young People's movement. 

Our Saviour taught that there should be one flock and 



200 SEEMONS, ESSAYS AND OUTLINES. 

one shepherd. The burden of his long prayer just before 
his betrayal was for the oneness of his people. He said, 
"A house divided against itself cannot stand, and a king- 
dom divided against itself must be brought to desolation." 
Our nation had a taste of that, and even now, after the 
lapse of forty-four years, it still leaves a bad taste in the 
mouth. Divided we were. Did we have desolation? Let 
this fair, suffering Southland answer. It wrung blood 
from mothers' hearts. Loving wives died broken-hearted. 
Fond fathers went down amid the awful wreck and ruin 
on every hand, and a half-million of the very flower of 
Southern manhood fell in battle, died in hospitals and 
perished by the wayside. Houses were ruined, homes were 
desolated, fields were laid waste, and fortunes were for- 
ever lost. Surely the Saviour knew the bitter results of 
division. In the face of all these things, it must be a 
craven soul that would any longer advocate a divided 
Christendom. 

The great apostle Paul exhorted his brethren to be of 
one mind, speak the same thing, and let no divisions exist 
among them. He said divisions are the sure signs of a 
carnal mind. He said we are all baptized by one Spirit 
into one body, and said there should be no schisms in the 
body. When in prison at Eome he wrote to the church at 
Ephesus and said : "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, 
beseech you to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye 
are called, with all lowliness and meekness, forbearing one 
another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit 
in the bond of peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, 
even as ye are called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, 
one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who 
is over all, and through all, and in you all." Thus, in 
these seven elements he presents the only possible basis of 
unity. 



THE CHARLESTON SERMONS. 201 

When we focus the seven primary colors it produces 
pure white light. These seven elements mentioned by 
Paul, taken up by the Protestant world and focused, will 
produce the pure white light of Christian unity. Heaven 
hasten the day ! 



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One copy del. to Cat. Div. 



